The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs said the United Nations should intervene in Egypt.
Nigeria’s top Muslim body has called for an immediate international investigation into the deadly crackdown against protesters by Egyptian authorities in which hundreds of people were killed this week.
The death toll from the massacre stood at above 750 since the first clampdown on Wednesday, on two sit-ins by thousands of Egyptians asking for the reinstatement of deposed President Mohammed Morsi.
The army chief, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, said on Sunday the country would not bow to violence and vowed the military would stand firm against further unrest.
“Whoever imagines violence will make the state and Egyptians kneel must reconsider; we will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country,” Mr. El- Sissi said in his first remark since security forces broke up the two sit-ins with a fierce military action.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that the International Criminal Court needed no invitation to initiate the process of investigating and bringing to justice the culprits of this impunity.
The group called for an unconditional release of Mr. Morsi.
Nigeria’sIn a statement by its secretary general, Is-haq Oloyede, the NSCIA condemned the massive waste of human lives and reckless maiming of protesting citizens of Egypt.
“The brutal murder of hundreds of armless civilians in the course of their legitimate right to protest is despicable and indefensible. The violation of the sanctity of the mosque in which some of the persons were mauled down is a very dangerous precedence, the consequence of which is too grievous to imagine,” the NSCIA said.
The group also criticized what it called the “tacit support of the serial murder and the incoherent condemnation of the callous massacre in Egypt by a section of the International community” as not only heartless and inhuman, but also “sacrilegious and demonic”.
“Humanity stands to progress if brutality and impunity are totally eschewed. The wanton destruction of lives portrays the assailants and their collaborators as wicked and lawless. Creed, race and nationality of the victims are irrelevant in the condemnation of abomination,” the statement added.
It however commended Nigeria and other nations for their responses to the crises and called on the United Nations to intervene decisively and find an instant, amicable, just and sustainable solution to the unfolding unfortunate episode in Egypt.
“The NSCIA calls for cessation of hostilities; unconditional release of the elected President Morsi and all other political detainees; constitution of an Independent electoral agency under the supervision of the United Nations; a truly representative national dialogue and an all-inclusive electoral process devoid of MOB ‘democracy’ and anarchy being instituted as alternative to despotism and poor Governance in certain parts of the world,” the statement said.
