The Defence Headquarters wishes to respond to Amnesty International (AI) reports in which the group alleged that the Nigerian military and the police engaged in horrific use of excessive force that led to the killing of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
The worrisome narrative of the Amnesty International (AI) in matters of national security and cohesion of Nigeria has continued unabated in spite of verifiable evidences to the contrary. The AI report is not a true reflection of what transpired in the last few days.
For the sake of the good people of Nigeria and the international community who quest for the truth, what the AI "cooked up'' in that report is a figment of its own imagination to further paint Nigeria black among the comity of nations.
The military has never been sent to stop the protesting Shi’ites group at any given time. On the events referred to by the AI, the soldiers were not after the protesting Shi’ites, neither was there such number of casualties.
A convoy from the Army Headquarters Garrison Abuja was conducting a routine shipment of ammunition and missiles to a military formation in Kaduna escorted by troops when they ran into the protesters at Zuba in FCT.
The protesting Shi’ites prevented the convoy from proceeding on its mission but rather attempted to overrun the escorts to cart away the shipment. Hence, the troops had to protect the goods and extricate themselves from the imminent mob action by applying minimum force.
The IMN also had another confrontation with the military at a popular checkpoint along Nyanya - Mararaba road leading into the FCT. Those living in or transiting the FCT knows that the military checkpoint had been established since 2014 after the BHT attack on Nyanya Motor Park.
Unfortunately, the group tried to overrun the checkpoint in which the military resisted. In all these attacks, the IMN was the aggressor while the military only acted in self defence.
The casualty of IMN stands at 4 wounded and 3 dead at Zuba while at the Nyanya - Mararaba road checkpoint, 3 died with 3 wounded. The military also had 6 of its personnel seriously wounded and currently at intensive care.
