Activist Wants One Panel To Investigate Clash Between Soldiers, Shiites In Zaria

Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Festus Okoye has warned against the multiplicity of panels to investigate recent bloody clash between the Shiites and Soldiers in Zaria, saying only Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by Kaduna State Government should be allowed to investigate the clash in order to avoid further crisis.

Besides, Okoye, who is the Executive Director of the Human Rights
Monitor (HRM), urged the government to appoint neutral and credible people as members of the judicial panel.

“The multiplicity of investigation panels and committees will compound, rather than assist in unraveling the remote and immediate causes of the clashes between some of the security forces and the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria”, pointing out that “All the Committee already set up by the different services, Commissions and agencies should feeds from judicial Commission of Inquiry to be set up by the Kaduna State Government”.

According to him, “the Kaduna State Government must set up a neutral and transparent Judicial Commission of Inquiry that will command the respect of the key stakeholders in the unfortunate incident, the members of the Commission should be made up of persons of integrity.“

Continuing, he said, “the Chairman of the Commission should be a serving Judicial Officer of any of the Superior Courts of Record and the bulk of the members should be chosen from outside the jurisdiction of the State and preferably persons outside the jurisdiction of Kaduna State.