The Zaria Massacre is a tragic event in Nigerian history that took place on December 12-14, 2015. This incident involved the Nigerian military attacking the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a Shia Muslim religious group, in Zaria, a city in the northern part of the country. It is estimated that about 1000 people were killed in the massacre, including three sons of the movement's leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.


The incident began when the military accused the IMN of attempting to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, during a procession in Zaria. The IMN denied any involvement in the alleged assassination attempt and accused the military of trying to frame them. In response, the military launched a brutal attack on the group, killing its members and destroying their properties.


The massacre sparked widespread outrage among Nigerians, with many calling for justice for the victims and the punishment of those responsible. Unfortunately, despite international condemnation and calls for accountability, no one has been held accountable for the massacre and no compensation has been provided to the victims and their families.


The aftermath of the Zaria massacre has been felt in many ways. The IMN has been left deeply traumatized, with survivors and relatives of the victims still seeking justice. The Nigerian government has been criticized for not properly investigating the massacre, and for its failure to bring those responsible to justice.


The Nigerian military has also been accused of using excessive force in its operations against the IMN. In the months following the massacre, there have been reports of Nigerian troops using excessive force against IMN members, denying the members their rights to exercise their fundamental Human Rights, and their leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky was detained for six years. 


The detention of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) for six years following the 2015 Zaria Massacre has also been widely condemned by human rights groups, with many arguing that the prolonged detention is unlawful and violates international standards.


Sheikh Zakzaky, who was arrested following the massacre, has been detained ever since. The Nigerian government has repeatedly refused to release him, despite numerous court orders mandating his release. The government has also denied him access to medical treatment, despite his deteriorating health condition.


Sheikh Zakzaky’s detention is seen by many as an example of the Nigerian government’s continued repression of the IMN. The government has long accused the IMN of being a “terrorist organization” and has used this false claim to justify its crackdown on the group. 


On July 28th, 2021, Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, was released from detention by Kaduna State High Court. The court’s decision which was delivered by Justice Kurada upheld the no-case submission filed by Zakzaky’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), saying the witnesses presented by the prosecution counsel had been unable to establish any connection between the charges and El-Zakzaky.


El-Zakzaky was charged with multiple offenses, including culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and criminal conspiracy. He had been held in prison for the past five years.


The court’s decision to release the Sheikh was welcomed by human rights activists and members of the international community, who had long called for his release. In its ruling, the court noted that the Nigerian government had violated the sheik’s fundamental rights and ordered that he be released immediately.


The court also ordered the Nigerian government to pay Sheik Zakzaky and his family financial compensation for their arbitrary detention and the violation of their rights. 


Since his release from detention, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky has accused the Federal Government of marking him and his wife, Zeenat, for withholding their passports three months after they were discharged and acquitted of criminal charges by Kaduna State High Court.


The couple was stopped from acquiring fresh international passports, so they could travel overseas for medical attention after security operatives reportedly lost their travel documents during their six years in detention.


Sheikh El-Zakzaky, who stated this in an interview with Press TV in Abuja on 17th October 2021 also accused the government of refusing to disclose any reason for doing so.


Narrating his ordeal, the Islamic cleric said 38 bullet fragments with dangerous levels of lead and cadmium were still lodged in his cheek up to the head, while his wife also bore a full bullet in her pelvis since 2015 which required urgent medical attention abroad.


He said:  “We were shot severally, such shooting that a human being cannot survive. They (security operatives) battered my right side and battered my right eye. Around the head, from the cheek up to the head, they counted about 38 fragments. Also, my wife has a gunshot in her stomach and her thigh.


“They took us to their hospital and somehow removed some of the bullets without putting her under anesthesia. It was later in another hospital that more bullets were removed, and she still has one complete bullet in her body, which found its place in her pelvis. And they said, at that time, they could not remove it.


“Up till now, these fragments release poisons like lead and cadmium. I am still living with some amount of those poisons in my body, including the fragments of bullets. It’s the will of Allah that I’m still alive; because when they tested the level of lead in my body, at one time, it was about 244, which they said a normal human being should contain only 10, but I had 244 in my body. Well, that’s the will of God that I’m alive, anyway.


“On July 28, this year, 2021, we were discharged and acquitted, and we were exonerated from all the eight charges against us. At the end of the day, it was found that none of us committed any offense, and then they were ordered to pay compensation, yet nothing happens. None at all.


“They know that we have a health issue, but we were kept with these difficulties, incarcerated for almost six years. But, by the grace of God, we survived it. Here (in Nigeria), they said they could not remove it, but our doctors, who came from outside the country, studied the situation and said they would be able to remove it.’’


“An order was given by the court of law that we have the right to seek medical assistance outside Nigeria. We were thinking that immediately we are out of prison, it will not be a matter of days we will leave this country. When we came out, we were hoping to get our passports back.


“In fact, our lawyer, after they ruled that we were discharged, went and begged the presiding judge to give an order that our passports should be released to us because of our health problem.


”The judge said there was no need for him to give any order because we have no charges. We have been discharged. He said we were entitled to all our property. The court doesn’t have to give orders.“When we came out, we were thinking in a matter of a week it will be okay for us. But, up till now, the passports have not reached our hands. At one time, the security operatives said they had lost the passports, and they are no longer in their hands.


“So, we took steps to make another one. But, at the end of the day, we were told that “passport flagging” has been placed on us; meaning that the two of us have no right to leave this country. We don’t know what for. At least, officially, they didn’t say it.


“So the matter has not come to an end. We are still, in a way, incarcerated because we are not allowed out of the country for no reason.”


On March 11th, 2022, An Islamic group bemoaned the continued maltreatment and seizure of the passport of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, and his wife seven months after they were acquitted and discharged by the court.


After several protests and press releases demanding the FG to immediately release the Sheikh's travel documents, the government of Nigeria still turns a deaf ear. Zakzaky is still suffering from internal injuries and the trauma remains burning to date.