The 23 people killed by a bomb blast in Dakasoye village, Kano State during the Arba’een symbolic trek by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, were on Thursday buried at the grand Arba’een commemoration held at the Hussainiyyah Baqiyyatullah, Zaria, Kaduna State.
An estimated 5,456,100 people trekked from Kano to Zaria to attend the Arba’een of Imam Hussain to recall the trial and tribulation of the family of the Prophet of Islam chained and dragged in the scorching desert, after the brutal killing of Imam Husain and his companions by forces of Yazid, son of Mu’awiyyah, 61 after Hijra.
The funeral prayer was led by the Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Shaikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, after the Arba’een commemoration with an estimated 17 million people in attendance.
The deceased were later buried at a special martyrs cemetery, Jannatul Darul Rahma, located at outskirt of Zaria city, where the 34 people killed during the 2014 Quds Day, which included three of Shaikh Zakzaky’s sons, were also buried.
Earlier in his speech, Sheikh Zakzaky accused the Nigerian security, specifically the Department of State Services, whom he accused of complicity in the killing of innocent people across the country in the name of Boko Haram.
He said: “We cannot be fooled by Boko Haram story when all statements by Boko Haram come from them.
“The statements come from US and Israel.
“How did the DSS in Nigeria knew there was going to be attacks on churches and mosques and who was going to do it?”
According to him, the sporadic killings in Nigeria and across the world was deliberately planned to control resources on selected countries and suppress any rising voice against the plan with the assistance of security agents of such countries.
Sheikh Zakzaky dismissed the existence of suicide bombers in the wide killings and specifically the Kano blast, saying they capture, torture and threaten unsuspecting victims and lure them through various means to carry explosives into gatherings in order to kill.
On the Kano State bomb carrier apprehended, the scholar said: “He is also a victim of the nefarious plan.
“He was captured during the Mubi invasion when his parents were dispersed and trained in Sambisa forest then brought to Kano and prepared to attack the Arba’een trek.”
Zakzaky said the statement by the bomb carrier apprehended indicated that he was threatened with death, should he fail to detonate the bomb.
Sheikh Zakzaky further stated that the statement by the person apprehended revealed that he was not part of the plan, but was used as a scapegoat to do the dirty job.
He added: “They also threatened to declare him a Boko Haram member should he fail to do the job.
“We treated him as a victim and had to let him go.
“We tried as much as possible to give him maximum cooperation when he was apprehended and refused to hand him over to the security operatives because they will definitely kill him.
“He is not in our custody now.”
The Islamic leader also exposed what he termed the last desperate attempt to attack the trek on entry into Zaria for the grand occasion.
Part of the plan, he explained, included placing explosives in petroleum jerry cans along the road and in juice containers.
He said a certain individual was sighted purchasing large quantity of a brand of juice in containers, pouring out the liquid content in preparation for the devilish plan.
Sheikh Zakzaky reiterated his stand that there was nothing like Boko Haram, but a grand ploy to destabilize the country and siphon its resources.
He said: “They are the same people conducting senseless killings in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and other places.
“Here in Nigeria, if the Boko is against western education that it attacks educational centres, is worship also forbidden (haram) that it also attacks places of worship?
“What about markets?
“Is business transaction also forbidden (haram)?
“We cannot be fooled!”
On the Arba’een commemoration, Shaikh Zakzaky said the occasion is unstoppable as more people are becoming conscious of its significance and what it stands for.
According to him, Arba’een stands for the answer to Imam Husain’s call to uproot injustice when he was alone without a helper in the plain of Karbala.
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