RNA - At least 2,000 Nigerians took part in a protest rally, marching from the National Mosque to the Federal Secretariat and chanting slogans in support of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky’s release and condemning his illegal detention.
Son of Ibraheem Zakzaky had complained in July that his mother and father are suffering from deteriorating health conditions and have been deprived of medical care by the government.
The Nigerian army attacked two religious centers of the country's Shiite community on December 12, killing hundreds of defenseless civilians there. A few hours later on December 13, the military arrested Sheikh Zakzaky after raiding his house and killing three of his sons, assistants and followers.
Political activists said later that the Nigerian army forces buried and set fire on the corpses of those Shiite Muslims who had been killed during the recent raids in Zaria region.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have also demanded setting up of a judicial commission of inquiry to probe the killings of their colleagues in Zaria on December 12 and 13, during a meeting with House of Representatives panel.
A New report published in Nigeria mid-April confirmed that the Army discriminately shot dead as many as 347 Muslims last December while swooping on the followers of the country’s leading Shiite cleric.
The report released as local government of Kaduna state, where the killings occurred, concluded its special investigation on the incident, and the findings suggest the army fired at supporters of Sheikh Zakzaky.
The military and government declined to comment on the report.
Nigeria is fighting a six-year-old Boko Haram insurgency that has killed at least 17,000 people and forced 2.6 million to flee their homes.
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