HE President Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu
Office of the President
The Aso Rock Presidential Villa
Yakubu Gowon Crescent
The Three Arms Zone
Asokoro
Abuja, FCT
Nigeria
10 April 2025
By email: info@statehouse.gov.ng
Dear President Bola Tinubu, Assalamu-alaikum,
We pray this letter finds you in good health and spirits.
We are writing to express our deep concern at a growing threat to peace and security in the country that we all hoped had disappeared once and for all.
As you will no doubt be aware, the peaceful annual al-Quds Day procession in Abuja at the end of Ramadan was subjected to a brutal attack by soldiers using live ammunition leading to the killing of at least 26 demonstrators and the arrest of a further 274, including minors.
There are many credible reports of protestors also being violently beaten using heavy sticks in a manner designed to inflict serious injury.
At least some of the deceased are believed to have died while in the custody of the FCT Police Command. Many of the injured have been left with life-threatening and life-changing injuries.
The attack on March 28 by soldiers of the Guards Brigade came after a public campaign of vilification by federal security authorities leading up to Al-Quds Day which in retrospect appears to have been intended to fabricate a pretext for the bloody attack.
By all accounts the attack was pre-planned, targeting the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which organises the annual marches across Nigeria. We had warned of the high potential for violence by security forces ahead of the march.
in addition to IHRC, Amnesty International has also condemned the attack.
Regular state violence against the movement was a feature of the previous administration of your predecessor Dr Buhari but has abated since you assumed the presidency.
As you know, one such attack, the massacre of over 1000 supporters of the IMN in December 2015, is the subject of a complaint currently before the International Criminal Court.
The kind of violence meted out to protestors on March 28 risks dragging Nigeria back to a dark era of unchecked executive violence and human rights abuses with little or no accountability for those responsible.
You will not need reminding that the use of this level of force and live ammunition against peaceful and unarmed protestors is a flagrant violation of both domestic and international law. The killings of innocent demonstrators amounts to extra-judicial execution. They undermine both the internal integrity of the country and Nigeria’s reputation abroad.
We call on you to launch an immediate independent investigation into the attack by security forces on March 28 with a view to identifying the perpetrators, including those in the chain of command, and bringing them to justice. Public confidence in the rule of law can only survive if abuses of this kind are dealt with swiftly, decisively and forcefully.
There is a huge expectation both inside and outside the country for meaningful change to address the legitimate and longstanding aspirations of the Nigerian people. We hope and pray that your administration can rise to the challenge.
Yours sincerely,
Mohideen Abdul Kader Massoud Shadjareh
P E N A N G S E C R E T A R I A T L O N D O N S E C R E T A R I A T
Citizens International Islamic Human Rights Commission
No.10 Jalan Masjid Negeri P O Box 598
11600 Penang Wembley HA9 7 XH
Malaysia United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: (604) 8284648 Tel: (+44) 20 8904 4222
Email: makrawter@gmail.com Email: Info@ihrc.org
Web: https://www.citizens-international.org/ Web: www.ihrc.org