The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said on Thursday that the arrested Shi’ite sect leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zak-Zaky, is no longer in the custody of the Army. The Army chief, who was responding to the request by NSCIA to meet with the sect leader, said that El-Zak-Zaky had been handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.According to Buratai, lawlessness must not be tolerated in the society especially when a part of the country is confronted with terrorism.
“As a responsible and law abiding organisation, we will do all that we can to always safeguard lives and property.As for the whereabouts of the Shi’ite leader, he is not in our custody; he has been handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution because we don’t prosecute.What happened was avoidable and unfortunate, we followed the rules of engagement as enshrined in the constitution but what happened still happened,” he said. Buratai dismissed claims in some quarters that the Army was after members of the sect.
He said that the army was only carrying out its constitutional duties.
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