How I was almost killed in Zaria - Army Chief recounts ordeal

dimeji akinloye

December 14, 2015 6:32 PM

Nigerian soldiers had opened fire on the shiites in defence, killing dozens of the sect members.

Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai has described his escape from the last Saturday's attack on his convoy as the will of God.

Multiple reports said that the attack by members of Shiite, an Islamic sect in Zaria, Kaduna State was targeted to kill Buratai.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Dec. 14, shortly after he appeared alongside other security Chiefs before the Senate committee on Defence, Buratai said the Shiite members were violent.

"You want to know how I escaped? It was by the will of God that I was able to escape from that place," he recounted. "I think NTA was there and they aired the clip, it was very clear. They were violent. Definitely this is very clear. The clips are there. That was what happened".

READ: Army vs Shiites - El-Rufai begins peace talks

The Minister of Defence, Brigadier General, Muhammad Dan-Ali (rtd), who also spoke on the incident, said the Federal government has begun investigation into the matter.

However, the Shiite movement has described the claims by the Nigerian Army that its members attempted to kill Buratai as a "blatant lie", stating that the sect members were armless. It accused the military of also killing the wife and son of the group's leader, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky.

dimeji akinloye