Buhari Studying Judicial Panel’s Report‎ on Shiites, Soldiers’ Clashes

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari is studying the report of the judicial inquiry into the clashes between soldiers and members of the Shiite Movement in Nigeria, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said the president also assured international and local human rights groups of appropriate response on the report.

The statement said: ‎”The president is studying the details of the report before announcing appropriate response in due course.

“The president’s commitment to human rights remains unchanged because it is a cardinal component of the democratic order.”

When the clashes occurred in December, Buhari had told the nation during the Presidential Media Chat that he was awaiting the outcome of the report of the inquiry into the incident before making appropriate response.

The statement said the present administration believed in due process and the rule of law and that any response to the report would follow this principle.

It said ‎the Federal Government would continue to act in the larger interest of the public to prevent such violent incidents.