Major General Chris Olukolade
Barely 48 hours after a twin bomb blast claimed over 80 lives in Kaduna what could have morphed into a major bloody war was averted in the same state as soldiers clashed with members of the Shiite Muslim sect said to be protesting the killings of Palestinians by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The clash however left on its trail death and despair as one Mahmud, the son of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, also known as Shiite, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, was among the five people killed when members of the sect reportedly clashed with soldiers on Friday in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Eyewitnesses said the sect’s members were on a procession to mark the annual Quds day and at the same time to condemn the military operations in Gaza by Israel, which started on July 8.
It was gathered that trouble started when there was a disagreement between the sect and the soldiers at a checkpoint around the PZ roundabout in Zaria.
The soldiers were said to have fired several warning shots, but the protesters were unmoved and defied the order of the soldiers.
At this point, the soldiers were said to have opened fire on the protesters and Mahmud El-Zakzaky, one of the leaders of the protest, was hit by a hail of bullets.
Mahmud’s younger brother, Ahmed El-Zakzaky, was among the dozens of people arrested by the military.
A security source, who craved for anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the matter, confirmed the incident but said the authorities of the Army were studying the situation. As of the time of filing this report, there was confusion in the ancient city of Zaria but military authorities told our correspondent that more soldiers have been deployed to the city of Zaria to avert further trouble.
