Contents
1. Summary & Background
2. Action required
3. Specimen letter and addresses
1. “Reports from Katsina today have indicated that the Nigerian army is amassing troops in an attempt at a clampdown on the Islamic Movement in the town.
Early in the morning armed troops were seen surrounding the main Juma’at mosque, where a peaceful maulud procession of the daughter of the Prophet, Nana Fatima (AS) was scheduled to take off. Seeing this, and due to the peaceful disposition of the Islamic Movement, the take-off venue of this yearly event was changed to another neighbourhood of the town, and the procession went round some major streets of the town and ended without any incident.
However to our consternation, reinforcement was brought from neighbouring formations of the army, and roadblocks were mounted on almost all the major roads leading to Katsina city. We have been reliably informed that the army is set to replicate the wanton destruction of lives and properties it carried out in Zaria last December. The army it seems has vowed to attack the Markaz Islamic centre in the town any moment from now, possibly kill all its occupants and raze it to ground just as it did to Husainiyya Islamic centre in Zaria.” – excerpt from a message from the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
2. There has been ongoing violence against the IMN for many years but the recent aggression was sparked off in December when the Nigerian army attacked the house of Sheikh Zakzaky and killed over 1000 people. Currently there are still over 200 people held in detention where they are not allowed to even receive proper medical care. As seen in the statement above, these early stages look similar to those of the Zaria attacks and the impending violence is feared. There is the potential for thousands more to go missing; to be killed and to be held in detention. Write to the FCO, African Union and Commonwealth and demand that they intervene before something happens.
3. Specimen letters and addresses
SPECIMEN LETTER A
[Your name]
[Your address if posting]
Date
[Name of recipient]
[Address / Email]
Dear [Insert name here]
re: The impending violence from Nigerian army in Katsina, Nigeria
You are doubtless aware of the killing of at least one thousand unarmed civilians in Zaria, Nigeria in December 2015. In the aftermath of these killings numerous people are missing, others are illegally detained either by the army or police.
There is the suggestion that the same killings are impending in Katsina as the army is currently stationed there and they have said that they plan to destroy buildings in the area and roadblocks have been mounted on almost all the major roads leading to Katsina city.
I urge your office to intervene and call on the government of Nigeria to end the violence. I also urge your office to call for an investigation into the previous massacre in December 2015 and demand the release of all the people who have been held in detention since then. In the meantime your office must suspend Nigerian membership of your organisation as well as any privileges it may have.
I look forward to your urgent action in this matter and your speedy response to my email.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature if posting]
[Your name]
Who to send the above specimen letter to:
Kamalesh Sharma
Secretary General
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London
SW1Y 5HX
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7930 0827
Email:info@commonwealth.int
AND
Dr Josephine Ojiambo
Deputy Secretary-general(Political)
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London
SW1Y 5HX
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7930 0827
Email: info@commonwealth.int
AND
H.E Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Chairperson
African Union
Email / Message them via this form http://www.au.int/en/contact
SPECIMEN LETTER B
[Your name]
[Your address if posting]
Date
[Name of recipient]
[Address / Email]
Dear [Insert name here]
re: The impending violence from Nigerian army in Katsina, Nigeria
You are doubtless aware of the killing of at least one thousand unarmed civilians in Zaria, Nigeria in December 2015. In the aftermath of these killings numerous people are missing, others are illegally detained either by the army or police.
There is the suggestion that the same killings are impending in Katsina as the army is currently stationed there and they have said that they plan to destroy buildings in the area and roadblocks have been mounted on almost all the major roads leading to Katsina city.
I urge your office to intervene and call on the government of Nigeria to end the violence. I also urge your office to call for an investigation into the previous massacre in December 2015 and demand the release of all the people who have been held in detention since then.
I look forward to your urgent action in this matter and your speedy response to my email.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature if posting]
[Your name]
Who to send the above specimen letter to:
James Duddridge MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
