Representative of Sheikh Zakzaky in Nigeria’s City Arrested: Report


Representative of Sheikh Zakzaky in Nigeria’s City Arrested: Report

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Nigerian troops have arrested Sheikh Adamu Tsoho, the representative of the country's Shiite Cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky in central city of Jos, a report said.

Nigerian troops on Sunday raided Sheikh Tsoho’s home in Jos, a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, and detained him, Al-Alam News network reported on Monday, citing informed sources.

The report added that the Nigerian forces first set fire to a Hosseinieh (religious center) near Sheikh Tsoho’s house and then took the cleric to an undisclosed place without giving any explanation for his arrest.

On December 12, 2015, Nigerian soldiers attacked Shiite Muslims attending a ceremony at a religious center in the city of Zaria in Kaduna, accusing them of blocking the convoy of the army’s chief of staff and attempting to assassinate him.

The following day, Nigerian forces also raided the home of the IMN (Islamic Movement of Nigeria) leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, and arrested the prominent cleric after killing those attempting to protect him.

A judicial inquiry concluded in August that the Nigerian army killed 348 members of the religious community during the two-day raids.

Back in April, UK-based rights group Amnesty International published evidence revealing how the Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and secretly dumped victims’ bodies in mass graves in the December 2015 deadly assaults.

“The true horror of what happened over those two days in Zaria is only now coming to light. Bodies were left littered in the streets and piled outside the mortuary. Some of the injured were burned alive,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for Africa.

Zakzaky is said to have been charged with "criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances."

Over the past months, Nigerians have held demonstrations across the country to demand Zakzaky’s release from jail.

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