A number human rights groups and international organizations have criticized the Kaduna State government, and Governor Nasir El-Rufai, for the continued repression of Shiite Muslim religious minorities.
Today, Human Rights Watch stated its growing concern about the ban on Shiite religious groups and violence directed toward the community in Kaduna State and across the region. HRW stated that “the move to ban the Shia umbrella body, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), by the Kaduna State government appears to have triggered a wave of discrimination and violence against Shia elsewhere in the country.”
SaharaReporters reported earlier this week that there was a series of coordinated attacks targeting Shiites across northern Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the Kaduna State government has been covering up the brutal massacre of peaceful Shiite protesters since December 2015 when more than 350 were murdered, many placed in a mass grave. The Nigerian army also abducted Shiite leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and has kept him in captivity since December.
SaharaReporters has also learned of a video showing Nigerian security services brutalizing and beating Shiite Muslims. The grisly video depicts similar coordinated, violent pogroms against Shiites.