(Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, ABUJA)
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured international and local human rights groups of appropriate response over the report of the judicial inquiry into the clashes between soldiers and members of the Shi’ite movement in Nigeria,
led by Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said the President was still studying the details of the report before announcing appropriate response in due course.
The Commission of Inquiry setup by the Kaduna State government to investigate the cause of the clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and soldiers last December, had indicted the leader of the group, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.

The report had stated that el-Zakzaky had refused to order his followers to allow passage to the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai and his convoy, when members of the IMN blocked the road at the PZ junction in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Shehu stressed that Buhari’s commitment to human rights remains unchanged because “it is a cardinal component of the democratic order.”

“The present administration believes in due process and the rule of law; therefore any response to the report would follow this principle.

“The Federal Government will continue to act in the larger interest of the public to prevent such violent incidents,” the statement reads.