THE Islamic Movement of Nigeria has expressed worry over the continued incarceration of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Malama Zeenat Ibraheem, saying 78 protesters demanding for his freedom had been killed in cold blood.
The organisation also raised the alarm that while their health condition had deteriorated on daily basis and needed urgent medical attention, the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), should be held responsible should anything happen to them in Kaduna prison.
The IMN said it would sustain the protest until Sheikh El-Zakzaky was released unconditionally and would also “continue to push the case of Zaria massacre at the International Criminal Court of Justice.”
A member of IMN, Prof. S. A. Maigandi, said these during a press conference held in Abuja on Friday to commemorate the 2,000 days of detention of El-Zakzaky and his wife, titled, ‘2,000 days’ illegal detention of Sheikh El-Zakzaky: The present government is the Architect.’
According to him, the Kaduna Judicial Commission of Inquiry report found that the “Cordon and Search Operation” conducted by the Nigerian Army culminated in the pogrom “in contravention of the provision of Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act No 24 of 1994”.
Maigandi said, “Today, June 3, 2021, marks 2,000 days of the illegal detention of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife. Since the infamous Zaria-massacre in the year 2015, the duo has been, and is still being detained, despite the several court orders granting their freedom.
“The public are aware that the present government ordered for the bloodbath that led to the killing of more than 1,000 people under the disguise of blocking a road to the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai.
“The unfortunate massacre of brothers and sisters of the Islamic movement whose bodies were buried in mass grave; the subsequent arrest of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and hundreds of his followers and the destruction of the property that belong to him perpetrated by the Nigerian Army in Zaria, have led to the death of more than 1,000 people, rendered 1,866 children orphaned.
“Even while calling for his immediate and unconditional release; in Abuja alone, 78 protesters were killed in cold blood. The health of Shaikh El-Zakzaky and his wife in Kaduna prison is giving us serious cause for concern; as of recent, Malama Zeenat Ibraheem contracted COVID – 19.
“We want to inform you that we cannot afford to sit at home watching Buhari and his sponsors trying to kill Sheikh El-Zakzaky in illegal detention. Therefore, we have been staging protests for the unconditional release of our leader.”
Copyright PUNCH.
