Former US envoy to Nigeria warns that Shiite dispute could blow up into another Boko Haram

FORMER US ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell has warned the federal government to tread be careful of the way it handles the case of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) spiritual leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky as it could precipitate a security crisis.

Over two years ago, Sheikh El-Zakzaky was arrested after a clash between IMN youths and the Nigerian Army in Zaria, that left dozens of its members dead. Following the incident, the government has clamped down on the sect, with many of its leaders in jail and the Shiites have begun holding demonstrations demanding their release.

In a piece titled Nigeria’s Treatment of Shia Minority Recalls That of Boko Haram, posted on the website of the American think-tank organisation, the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr Campbell warned that the way the crisis was being handled could lead to further insecurity. He added that there is an escalating conflict between Nigeria’s Shia minority, some of whom are organised into the IMN and Nigeria’s secular government, that has been largely overlooked by the Western media.

Mr Campbell said: “The current focus is the eight charges of murder brought by Kaduna State against IMN leader Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, whom the government has detained for two years without charge. Complicating the issue is the Iranian government, which has periodically protested el-Zakzaky’s confinement.

“Beginning in April, there have been daily protests in Abuja and cities in the north against el-Zakzaky’s continued detention. According to the Nigerian media, some of these demonstrations have turned violent and the capital has occasionally been shut down and these demonstrations may have provoked the Kaduna State authorities to formally charge el-Zakzaky with murder and if convicted, he could face the death penalty.”

According to the former envoy, there are similarities between the way the founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was treated and the manner in which the El-Zakzaky’s case is being handled. He said federal, not state, authorities are holding Sheikh El-Zakzaky in custody and federal spokesmen have said that he cannot be released until the Kaduna State judicial process is completed.

Mr Campbell added: “In December 2015, El-Zakzaky and his IMN group were accused of attempting to assassinate the chief of army staff, Tukur Buratai, when they blocked his convoy. Following that, the Nigerian Army attacked IMN facilities, killing hundreds of people, including members of El-Zakzaky’s family while the IMN leader and his wife were seriously wounded and arrested.

“The Zaria episode is in some ways similar to the 2009 clash between the army and followers of Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, which led to Yusuf’s death and to the emergence of Boko Haram in its present form. However, unlike Mohammed Yusuf, El-Zakzaky has not been murdered by the police."

He added that advocacy of violence aside, there are striking ideological similarities between IMN and Boko Haram, at least for outside observers. Both see the secular state as evil, both want an Islamic state based on Sharia law and both sects want the end to Western influence, including in education.