Reps Order Buratai To Investigate Zaria Killings

The House of Representatives committee on national security and intelligence has ordered the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur a , to investigate the Shiites/Army clash and provide the House with a report to that effect in three weeks. 

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai

This was the outcome of a close-door meeting between the lawmakers and the army boss on Tuesday, December 22, in Abuja.

While fielding questions from journalists, chairman of the committee, Aminu Jaji, said the report would assist the green chambers have a clear understanding of what happened between his men and members of the sect.

Jaji noted that the panel had earlier met with the director-general, department of state security (DSS), Lawal Daura, a week ago adding that the lawmakers would meet with the Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase.

He stated that the panel’s effort to reach the sect has been unsuccessful maintaining that it had earlier sent delegations to Zaria but they could not get to the sects’ leader.

However, Jaji said the House would strategies on ways to meet with the leader of the sect so as to get the a balanced report of the sad event. He added that the lawmakers meeting with Buratai would continue as yesterday’s parley was the first in a series of the meetings to come.

Turkur Buratai has come under severe attack following the Zaria bloodbath. The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) in reaction to the killings has advised Buratai to resign. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has asked the committee to unearth the cause of the clash with a view to finding lasting solutions. He instructed the committee to do a through job, considering the sensitive situation in the country at the moment.