Journalist Recounts 2015 Zaria Shiite M¶ssacre: ‘They Were K!lled, Burned And Bur!ed In Mass Graves; We Won’t Forgive Buhari’
Journalist Recounts 2015 Zaria Shiite Massacre: ‘They Were Killed, Burned And Buried In Mass Graves; We Won’t Forgive Buhari’
In a series of emotional posts on Facebook, Nigerian journalist Saifullahi M. Kabir mourned the victims of the military action carried out under Buhari’s government and condemned the former president for what he described as the mass killing of innocent Shiite Muslims.
The 2015 Zaria massacre, a deadly military crackdown on members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites, has resurfaced in national conversation following the death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in London, after a prolonged illness.
In a series of emotional posts on Facebook, Nigerian journalist Saifullahi M. Kabir mourned the victims of the military action carried out under Buhari’s government and condemned the former president for what he described as the mass killing of innocent Shiite Muslims.
In one of his posts, Kabir listed victims of the massacre, stating, “Fatima Ali Munjibir, Nusaiba Yakubu Zurmi, Nusaiba Shafiu Kazaure, Fatima Isa Waziri, and Khadija Ibrahim Dasuqi, are all young, hardworking university students and religious leaders who were killed by General Buhari in 2015 in Zaria.”
He further alleged that the victims’ bodies were never recovered or buried properly according to Islamic rites.
“None of their bodies were found, let alone given proper burials as prescribed by Islam. It is believed that Buhari’s soldiers burned some alive, some cremated their bodies, and some were taken away and buried in a mass grave at the Mando cemetery in Kaduna,” he wrote.
Non
Expressing outrage, Kabir offered a prayer invoking divine punishment on Buhari:
“May Allah grant their families patience over their loss, and fulfill His promise to Buhari and his followers to put them in Hell, which He has promised to those who kill a believer intentionally. May Allah be angry with Buhari and prepare for him a painful punishment. Ilahi Ameen Ya Allah. #BuhariAllahYaIsa #ZariaMassacre #WeRemember.”
In another post, Kabir shared photos of two victims and recounted a testimony from their mother.
“Here is the picture of Sister Khadija and Sister Fatima, they are the children of Malam Yakubu Okene. Buhari killed them together with their elder brother and father in the house of Shaikh Ibrahim Zakzaky (H), when he sent soldiers to kill Muslims in Zaria in December 2015,” he said.
He added, “The youth are hardworking, memorizing the Holy Qur’an. Their mother testified to me how they were obedient and good to her before Buhari separated her from them physically.”
He ended with a prayer for justice, saying, “May Allah support us with their blood, on behalf of Buhari and those who helped him to implement this terrorism.”
‘How Can This Family Forgive Buhari?’
Kabir also highlighted the case of Hajiya Jummai Ahmad Karofi and her family.
“Five children of reras, General Buhari killed Hajiya Jummai Ahmad Karofi and her husband Engr. Yahaya Gilima in Zaria City 2015. Herself Hajiya Jummai, still has bullets in her body after the physical treatment she was undertaken for 10 years. Same to her eldest son, the son of these five, Engr. Ahmad AY, Buhari forced him to live with bullets in his body.”
Buh
He continued: “So her younger sister Mama Hassana Yakubu Muhammad, back to her younger brother Malam Mansur Karofi was imprisoned for many years because of Ashura’s oppression during Buhari’s time. How can this family forgive Buhari for such injustice?”
Buh
“May Allah avenge us on Buhari’s behalf. May Allah judge him for the wickedness he did to us. May Allah accept the martyrdom of our martyrs,” he said.
Remembering Ibrahim Dutsinma
Posting a photograph of a man identified as Alhaji Ibrahim Dutsinma, Kabir described him as another victim of the massacre.
“May Allah Ta’ala grant Alhaji Ibrahim Dutsinma, one of the more than thousand people that General Buhari was murdered in Zaria in 2015. May Allah accept their martyrdom,” he wrote.
Kabir added that justice would not only elude Buhari but also others associated with him:
“He followed their bloody blood on Buhari why they were killed and those who committed the killings. Of course we will not forgive their killings, talkless of their Abba Ahmed Planner, his wives like Mrs. Ummu Baneen, his children Pherteemer Ibrahim and all the rest of the family.”
He also posted a group photo showing seven young men, stating they were all killed by Buhari’s government in the same episode.
Death Of Sumayyah Isa Hasan
Another poignant tribute by Kabir commemorated Sumayyah Isa Hasan, daughter of Professor Isa Mshelgaru.
Suma
“Sumayyah Isa Hasan, a daughter to Professor Isa Mshelgaru. Buhari killed her in Zaria, when he gave soldiers orders to kill more than thousand Muslims in December 2015,” he said.
Describing her as devout and obedient, he recalled their last conversations.
“Aunty Sumayyah is a good person, a hardworking person, her parents testified her obedience to Allah Ta’ala and doing good to them during her life time… She said, the army is expected to withdraw since dawn, this government (Buhari) will suffer to be seen during the day. They are the kind of terrorism that started in the night,” he wrote.
Kabir narrated that Sumayyah was ultimately killed at Sheikh Zakzaky’s residence.
“Buhari’s army has reached the house of leader Sheikh Zakzaky (H), inside the house there is martyr Sumayya, they witnessed it together with many Muslim brothers and sisters, they scattered them with fire in the middle of the day of Allah Ta’ala,” he wrote.
In a message to Sumayyah’s mother, Ummah Jummai Ibrahim Musa, he wrote, “Your blessed daughter’s majesty has reached them where they are now. We hope they are in the mercy of Allah Ta’ala, and he is where Allah Ta’ala has prepared for those who kill the lives of the believers with injustice, by the grace of Allah.”
Background: The 2015 Zaria Massacre
In December 2015, the Nigerian Army launched a violent crackdown on the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, led by Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, estimated that over 300 members of the IMN were killed, and dozens of others disappeared.
The military claimed the Shiites had blocked a road being used by the Chief of Army Staff, but the scale of the response drew widespread condemnation both domestically and internationally.
Former President Buhari, under whose administration the attack occurred, never publicly apologised or held any senior officers accountable for the massacre. The victims were largely Shiite Muslims, and many of the dead were reportedly buried in mass graves.
Kabir’s posts highlight the deep pain and bitterness still harboured by families of the victims nearly a decade later.
As Buhari’s death stirs reactions across Nigeria and beyond, his legacy remains sharply contested—hailed by some as a disciplinarian and defender of national security, but remembered by others, like Kabir, as a ruler whose administration sanctioned state violence and religious persecution.
