28th April, 2016
The Kaduna Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday concluded its Public Hearing into the December 12 Shiite/Army clash in Zaria as Shiite Muslims boycotted the panel.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) boycotted the panel’s sitting because of the continued arrest of its leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
The Chairman of the Commission, Justice Muhammed Lawal-Garba announced the end of the public hearing at the panel’s sitting on Wednesday.
The commission had before winding up, heard submissions of the Commandant, Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, Brig.-Gen. Christopher Musa and three other Commanders on their role during the clash.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 150 memoranda were submitted to the panel, with testimonies and recommendations from stakeholders..
The Chairman said that the panel may receive other submissions when the need arises.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army, had applied for a date to make summary submission of its position to the panel.
Its counsel, Biola Oyebanji said his client needed to submit a harmonised position of its presentations to the panel.
It would be recalled that the 13-man panel was set up in January to determine the immdiate and remote causes of the clash.
Part of the work of the panel was to determine the number of persons killed during the clash as well as the number missing and injured.
It was also to identify persons and institutions involved in the crises, and determine justification of their action.
The panel was earlier given six weeks to submit its findings, which was later extended by four weeks.
Meanwhile, officials of the Kaduna State Government had told the panel that 347 persons were killed during the clash.
The State Government had told the panel that the bodies of the victims deposited at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) and the Nigerian Army Depot Zaria were buried in a mass grave in Mando area of Kadunay.
The Army, however, told the Panel that only seven persons lost their lives during a Cordon and Search operation between Dec. 12 to Dec 14.
The Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Jama’atul Nasril Islam, as well as several civil society and human right groups made submissions to the panel.