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 in Abuja yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the president had also assured international and local human rights groups of appropriate response on the report.
According to Shehu, ”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 inquiry into the incident before making an appropriate response.
Shehu said the Buhari administration believed in due process and the rule of law and that any response to the report would follow this principle.
He said the federal government would continue to act in the larger interest of the public to prevent such violent incidents.
Following the clashes, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, had set up a panel to investigate the clashes. The panel submitted its report last month.
However, the followers of El-Zakzaky rejected the report describing it as absurd and bias.
