By Longtong Ibrahim
Kaduna (Nigeria) – The Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government in north-western Nigeria to look into the 2015 December Zaria clash between the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as ‘Shi’ites’ has on Friday submitted its report to the governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
It would be recalled that on January 29, 2016, Governor El-rufai set up an inquiry panel to investigate the cause of the clash which claimed many lives.
While submitting the report, Chairman of the inquiry commission, Justice Mohammed Lawal-Garba, said the panel received 3,500 memoranda within and outside the state during its sittings, but one of the parties, IMN, failed to appear before the panel for reasons best known to them as there were no formal explanations on why they refuse to appear despite prolonged adjournments to enable parties directly involved make presentations.
He said, “There was no reason made known to the commission because there was no formal communication to the commission on why they decided not to continue their appearance before the commission. Like everybody else, we were reading on newspapers, online and other avenues that they did not want to appear and they were not going to appear.”
While receiving the report, Governor El-Rufai said the government will study the results and ensure that recommendations made by the commission are implemented to prevent future crisis in the state.
He also noted that, government would evaluate the security implication of the report before making it public, saying it has been classified top secret for now.
The governor while thanking members of the commission for a job well done said, “In the last three and half decades, Kaduna State has suffered too much from at least 10 rounds of ethnic and religious violence. We hope that the inquiry process and the final report that you have presented today will help ensure that the legacy of violent disorder and the catastrophic toll on lives and property, are firmly consigned to the past in the state.”
