Nigerian Shiites are Africa’s largest Shia community. It is believed that 95% of Shiites in Western African countries had a previous religion or belief before converting to Shiism over the last three decades. The city of Zaria, located in northern Kaduna State, is the Shiite stronghold of Nigeria. Moreover, Nigeria has a small community of Lebanese immigrants in addition to its indigenous Shiites. Before 2000, Nigeria’s ethnic Shiite population was only a few thousand. However, in recent years, the Shiite community has been estimated to number over 25 million. Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky is Nigeria’s revered Shiite leader. He organized a revolutionary movement in educational institutions with the assistance of a small number of young Muslims by monitoring news and events connected to the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the aftermath of the 1979 incidents in the Middle East. As a consequence of this strategy, tensions have developed between Nigeria’s Shiite minority and the state’s security force. In 2015, Nigerian troops assaulted a Shiite cultural centre in Zaria, killing a significant number of believers who were commemorating the anniversary of Imam Hussein’s (PBUH) martyrdom. The Nigerian police then invaded Sheikh Zakzaki’s residence and arrested him, killing and wounding scores of his zealous followers as they surrounded Sheikh Zakzaki’s house and refused to allow the troops to take their leader away.

Even though the Nigerian army stormed and opened fire at Sheikh Zakzaki’s house in 2015, the 68-year-old Shia leader was unhurt.

Zinat Ibrahim, Sheikh Zakzaki’s wife, was also detained during the raid by Nigerian security. Following the incident, the Nigerian military started persecuting Shiite religious gatherings. Six years have elapsed since the Nigerian Police attacked Shiite civilians on Arbaeen and Quds Day, killing and arresting individuals without due process, including Nigerian Shiite leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaki, amid international silence and a reluctance to pursue his case in international tribunals. Unfortunately, human rights organizations have remained horrendously quiet in the face of these atrocities for the last decade, and possibly longer, while hundreds of Nigerian Shiites have been murdered by Saudi-backed Wahhabi fanatics, including six of Ayatollah Zakzaki’s children. The International Court of Justice has been petitioned by London’s Islamic Human Rights Commission for Sheikh Zakzaki’s freedom. The reality is that both the Zionist and Saudi regimes are particularly alarmed about Shiism’s expansion in Nigeria and the fact that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, headed by Sheikh Zakzaki, is a Nigerian version of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Thus, it is not surprising at all to know that Nigeria has lately become one of Israel’s most significant African trade partners. As a result, it appears the Nigerian government is attempting to silently kill Israel’s number one nemesis in Africa, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, without raising any public suspicion. Sheikh’s health has deteriorated as a result of the poison contained in the bullets that struck his body. The Nigerian Supreme Court ordered Sheikh Zakzaki’s immediate release and ordered the Nigerian army and security services to compensate his family in December 2016, but the military and security agencies refused. In June 2019, a second Nigerian court ordered Sheikh Zakzaki’s transfer to India for urgent medical treatment. After endless negotiations with the Nigerian authorities, Sheikh Zakzaki was sent to India for medical treatment. However, due to the obstructions posed by the Nigerian government, Sheikh Zakzaki returned to Nigeria without making any progress. In the same year, Sheikh Zakzaki divulged to his family that he had been poisoned numerous times by food. “Sheikh Zakzaki has had two strokes while incarcerated and is suffering from Lead poisoning as a result of the numerous bullets still lodged in his body,” Soheila Zakzaki, Sheikh Zakzaki’s daughter said, adding that her parents are critically sick as a consequence of intentional medical neglect. Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaki’s lawyer, Adam Ishaq, issued a statement a few months ago, alleging that Saudi Arabia surreptitiously paid the Nigerian government millions of dollars to eliminate Sheikh Zakzaki. “The US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have directed Nigerian President Buhari to arrange for a silent assassination of Sheikh Zakzaki,” Adam Ishaq said. “No one knows why Sheikh Zakzaki’s condition continues to deteriorate,” Mr Ishaq said.