LAGOS
The umbrella Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria has accused the military of planning to carry out bombings that would then be blamed on its members – a claim the army denies.
"They have plans to attack themselves: set some places on fire, set some bombs to go off – just like they are doing in the case of Boko Haram – and claim it is the Islamic movement [that] is doing so," movement spokesman Abdullahi Danladi told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.
Danladi, a university teacher, said the plan to frame their group comes after the authorities failed to provoke the Shiite community to violence in July, when security forces killed 33 Shiites – including three sons of movement leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakyzaky – at a pro-Palestine rally in the northwestern town of Zaria.
"We understand that… the government wants to provoke us into violence," Danladi said.
"When they saw that we did not do so [commit violence] and [that] we have indeed made clear that we have no such intention as we have left everything to Allah, now they have plans to cause violence and then blame us," he added.
"Apart from this, we have some security reports... to the effect that the government has asked all security institutions to be on the alert as we are going to attack," added the movement spokesman.
The accusations come two days before the Shiite community will hold the "arbaeen" for its 33 slain members – a Shiite custom held to mark the passage of 40 days since death.
The military, for its part, categorically dismissed the allegations.
"The Nigerian military has no plan to frame anybody or any organization," defense spokesman Chris Olukolade told AA.
"It is not our doctrine or practice," he insisted.
"Anyone who is not planning to cause or foster violence and breach of security in any part of the country has no cause for fear or alarm," he said.
"The military will not succumb to any ploy to distract it from efforts at containing terrorism and related crimes aimed at undermining the security of the country," he added.
Another Boko Haram
Danladi went on to allege that ongoing violence in Nigeria's northeast was actually being carried out "by the military, which then turn around and blame Boko Haram."
"After they killed Mohamed Yusuf [Boko Haram leader who died in police custody in 2009] they started planting bombs here and there, claiming it is Boko Haram exacting revenge," he told AA.
"All this insecurity across the country is nobody's doing but the government – and then they turn around and blame it on Boko Haram," Danladi asserted.
"They want to transfer the same logic in dealing with the Islamic [Shiite] movement; thank God we have made our points clear that we are not going to resort to any act of violence," he said.
Sheikh al-Zakyzaky has in the past claimed that Boko Haram's reclusive leader, Abubakar Shekau, was actually being sheltered in an army barracks somewhere.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in Nigeria's local Hausa language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.
The group later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.
In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks – on places of worship and government institutions – and thousands of deaths.
Killings probe
Danladi said representatives of the Shiite movement had appeared before a panel of inquiry set up by the Nigerian military to probe the July killings.
He added that they, with the use of video clips and photographs, had proven to the panel that there had been no exchange of fire – as had been claimed by the military.
"It was just a massacre of innocent and harmless civilians," the spokesman told AA.
"They [the army] have committed murder and the whole world is watching to see how they will cover it up."
The Nigerian army had admitted to firing on pro-Palestine Shiite protesters marking Al-Quds Day, which is usually recognized on the last Friday of Ramadan.
But it insisted that troops had not initiated the attack and had only acted in self-defense after having been fired upon.
"Are they going to deny that they [opened fire] or that there are 33 dead bodies? Or are they going to ensure that the culprits do not go scot-free?" Danladi fumed.
Asked if the movement planned to take legal action against the military, the spokesman said it had set up a board of inquiry that was currently looking into the issue.
"We want to see how far this plays out. We don't want to preempt them," he said.
Olukolade, the military spokesman, confirmed that the army's probe into the incident remained ongoing.
"The military inquiry is aimed at ascertaining the details of the incident of that day in Zaria and the operational conduct of troops," he told AA. "It is still in progress."
In a recent report on the incident, rights watchdog Amnesty International concluded that army troops had wrongly killed protesters.
The military, for its part, has questioned the watchdog's fairness in assessing the situation.
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