Ibrahim Zakzaky: The Fight for Freedom

An ethnic cauldron of nearly 400 ethnic and religious communities,  Nigerian is becoming more violent against less populated religious groups such as the small Shiite community in the northern country.

So it is not surprising that when Nigeria’s massive ethno-religious diversity combines with deleterious factors such as colonial interventions, an endless flood of bloody conflicts would ensue.

Since 2011, repressive measures against Nigeria’s Shiites have escalated both by Nigerian central government, including the police and security apparatus and also by the Saudi-backed fanatic militias such as Boko Haram.

In 2015, the Nigerian police barbarously crushed an annual Ashura mourning ceremony that had been organized by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN). The IMN, led by prominent and erudite Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, declared that the Nigerian government forces attacked a local Husseiniya (Shia religious centre) in Zaria, killing and wounding more than 1.000 civilians including members of Sheikh Zakzaky’s family.

The Nigerian government, under the extreme Saudi duress, has outlawed the IMN and announced that the movement is posing a grave threat against Nigeria’s stability. Today, subjugating the small Shiite community in Zaria has become a top agenda item for the despotic regime in Abuja. Nigeria’s current dictator Muhammadu Buhari, a Zionist puppet, under whom Abuja has formed closer relations with Riyadh, believes that by committing massacres and by promising an iron-fist policy he can eradicate the Shia community.

Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife has been incarcerated in an unknown location for a long time, and during these years, news has been published concerning his deteriorating health condition. This issue has led the supporters of Sheikh Zakzaky to hold several peaceful gatherings, demanding the immediate release of their spiritual leader.

Various figures from the Nigerian Christian communities have also raised their voice against Abuja’s tyrannical actions vis-à-vis Sheikh Zakzaky and his Muslim followers. Pastor John Joseph, one of Nigeria’s most outstanding religious figures stated that he personally has tried many times for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky and his sincere efforts for the release of the Shia leader would continue.

“Sheikh Zakzaky is the symbol of peace and harmony in Nigerian society and he defends the human rights in his community,” Fars News Agency quoted Pastor Joseph, emphasizing that the oppression of one person tantamount to the oppression of all mankind.

“I announce my support for Sheikh Zakzaky. I have personally witnessed that he was a benevolent and peace-loving religious leader, an ambassador of peace and a human rights activist,” Roland Sanda, a Christian pastor in the province of Kaduna was cited as saying