347 killed in clash between Shiite and Nigerian Army in Dec.: official

At least 347 people were killed during the Dec. 12 Shiite/Nigerian Army clash in Nigeria's northern city of Zaria in Kaduna State, an official said Monday.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Balarabe Lawal, disclosed this in a government submission at the ongoing Public Hearing of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the clash in Kaduna.

Lawal told the panel that 191 corpses were taken from the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, and were buried in Mando area in Kaduna.

He said 156 corpses were also conveyed from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, to the same Mando area.

The official told his audience that the corpses of youth Members of the Islam Movement (IMN) who allegedly attempted to attack the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Dec. 12, 2015, in Zaria.

According to him, the corpses were committed into a single grave (mass burial) at the Mando area jointly supervised by the state government officials and about 40 men of the Nigerian Army, led by an officer in the rank of a Major.

Lawal said 189 suspects were being prosecuted for alleged involvement in the Zaria crises while one suspect had died in custody.

He said the state government had received several security reports from the Directorate of State Security (DSS) on the activities of the movement.

According to Lawal, several measures had been taken to address the situation before it finally escalated into the clash with the Nigerian Army. Endit