TEHRAN – The Persian translation of the book “December 2015 Massacre of Shiites in Nigeria: Survivors' Accounts” written by Ibrahim Musa has been released in Iran.

Translated by Maryam Afshar, the book has been brought out by Rahyar Publication in 144 pages, Mehr reported.

Originally published in 2020, the book delves deep into the harrowing accounts of 24 resilient survivors who witnessed the unimaginable horrors unleashed upon unarmed Shia civilians in Zaria, Nigeria. 

In this gripping narrative, the survivors break their silence, shedding light on the dark forces that conspired to silence their community and their quest for justice. From the chaos and confusion to the sheer resilience of the human spirit, their testimonies will leave you spellbound and incite a burning desire for change.

The book uncovers the depths of the massacre, unraveling the chilling truths that the Nigerian military and government have tried to bury. Through their vivid recollections, the readers bear witness to the scale of human suffering, the courage to confront adversity, and the enduring fight for truth and accountability.

Their stories awaken social conscience, challenging the world to acknowledge the untold narratives that demand justice and lasting change.

Amnesty International (AI) has corroborated the true accounts of the 24 persons who survived the December 2015 violent face-off between the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in Zaria, Kaduna State.

AI had brought out a brief report after it carried out an extensive and meticulous investigation into the incident. The findings of AI greatly corroborated the tales of those who survived the ugly incident, as captured in the book.

In the Zaria massacre, also known as the Buhari massacre, at least 1000 civilians were killed, with 347 bodies secretly buried by the Army in a mass grave.

The Army claimed that it had responded to an attempt to assassinate Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, by the Islamic Movement (IMN) in Nigeria. This claim has been strongly rejected by the IMN and several human rights organizations, who argue that the massacre occurred without any provocation and that all the protestors were unarmed.

Some of the injured within a makeshift hospital were burned alive, according to a report by Amnesty International. According to a Human Rights Watch report, Nigeria's government buried the bodies without family members' permission.

The incident is considered among the “notable human rights violations since the return to democracy” in Nigeria.

“December 2015 Massacre of Shiites in Nigeria: Survivors' Accounts” presents a new, unique narration of what actually happened on those dark days of December 12 to 14, 2015, as told by the survivors of the heinous Zaria massacre, as it became known, including that of the incarcerated Shiite leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

An outspoken and prominent Shi'a leader in Nigeria, Sheikh Zakzaky, has been imprisoned several times for what he sees as injustice, especially the system of corruption in his country. He claims that only Islam can offer a solution to the complex socio-political problems facing Nigeria, which has, over the years, stagnated the country's development.

Sheikh Zakzaky is the head of Nigeria's Islamic Movement, which he started in the late 1970s, when he was a student at Ahmadu Bello University, and began propagating Shia Islam around 1979, at the time of the Islamic Revolution, which saw Iran's monarchy overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Imam Khomeini. 

Zakzaky believed that the establishment of a republic along similar religious lines in Nigeria would be feasible. He has been detained several times due to accusations of civil disobedience or recalcitrance under military regimes in Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s, and is still viewed with suspicion or as a threat by Nigerian authorities. 

In December 2015, the Nigerian Army raided his residence in Zaria, seriously injured him, and killed hundreds of his followers. Since then, he has remained under state detention in the nation's capital pending his release, which was ordered in late 2016.

Another compelling feature of “December 2015 Massacre of Shiites in Nigeria: Survivors Accounts” is the inclusion of the testimony of the Secretary to the state government (SSG) of Kaduna gave the Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) that was set up by the same government on the crisis. 

The book seeks to bridge the communication gap that has existed between members of the Movement and the Nigerian public, in particular, and the international community in general, over the war crimes committed by the Nigerian Military in Zaria.

Ibrahim Musa, 59, is a journalist by profession based in Kaduna state, Nigeria. He graduated from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 2006 with a degree in Mass Communication. He started my journalistic career in 1991 as the founding editor of a Zaria-based newspaper.

SS/SAB