BEVERLY HILLS, JULY 20, (THEWILL) – The judicial commission of inquiry, set up by the Kaduna State government, to investigate the alleged massacre of Shi’ites in the state, last December, has declared that the Nigerian Army, Police and the State Security Services, failed in their responsibilities by allowing the killings to occur.
The 13-man panel, led by Mohammed Garba, a judge at the Federal Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, said the security agencies failed to put their intelligence capabilities to use.
The panel added that it could confirm that 349 people, including a soldier, were killed but said that military officials refused to cooperate with the panel in ascertaining the exact number of people who died during the crisis.
The report however failed to indict Army Chief, Tukur Buratai, but indicted the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army 1st Division in Kaduna, Adeniyi Oyebade, and Colonel A.K. Ibraheem, who led the operation.
“The clash between the Nigerian Army and the IMN from 12-14 December, 2015, reveals a glaring failure of intelligence. The SSS, the NPF as well as the Nigerian Army all have intelligence functions in their mandates,” the panel declared.
“The Nigerian Army failed to by all indications gather sufficient intelligence that could have been used to follow another route for example, thereby avoiding the clash.
“This inadequacy and the reluctance of these agencies to provide vital information requested raise concern on how well they are doing their work.
“While the Nigerian Police Force was present at the beginning of the clash, they explained to the commission that they took the decision to withdraw from the scene and go and defend their police stations, suggesting thereby that they had no responsibility for law enforcement at the scene of the clash.
“The 1999 Constitution task police to for detection and prevention of crime and apprehension of offenders.
“Testimonies of witnesses and stakeholders who appeared before the commission point to reasonable conclusions that there was a lack of political will on the part of the federal government to take proactive action against seemingly dangerous groups and organisations.
“Many witnesses pointed to the non-implementation of recommendations of reports of previous commissions of inquiry relating to this group and others who have posed grave threats to peace and harmonious living.”
The commission however advised the Kaduna State Government and the Federal Government to take intelligence gathering serious, facilitate training and equipment for security agencies and ensure that such groups are placed under regular surveillance
