Islamic Movement under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has submitted a petition to international and local bodies calling for renewed pressure to prosecute those responsible for the 2015 Zaria Massacre, as preparation to mark the tragic event’s tenth anniversary is underway.
The appeal which was signed on behalf of the movement by Professor Abdullahi Danladi and directed to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, urged the rights organizations to intensify demands for an independent international investigation into the killings.
Professor Danladi underscored that, a decade later, no senior officials or military personnel have been held accountable.
The petition details that in December 2015, hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed during a military operation in Zaria, Kaduna State, with independent estimates of the casualties ranging from several hundred to over a thousand, adding that many survivors faced arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearance.
The document highlighted the ongoing plight of the victims’ families, who it says continue to endure intimidation, stigmatization, and a systemic denial of justice. It called specifically for the prosecution of military and political leaders who ordered or condoned the infamous massacre.
“Ten years of silence and impunity cannot erase the pain of the Zaria Massacre. Justice delayed is justice denied,” the petition stressed.
It called on the rights organizations to stand firmly with the victims, their families, and all Nigerians in demanding accountability, truth, and dignity.
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