Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

…Shiites jubilate over court judgment

By Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief
03 December 2016   |   3:16 am
In the spirit of jubilation across Kaduna metropolis and its environs, members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Shiites, trooped out to celebrate the Federal High Court ...

Shiites

In the spirit of jubilation across Kaduna metropolis and its environs, members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Shiites, trooped out to celebrate the Federal High Court, Abuja judgment which ordered the Federal Government to release their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife from detention.

Several Shiite members were seen discussing in groups in Tudun Wada, Tudun Nupawa, Rigasa and other parts of the metropolis, rejoicing over the court judgment granting freedom to El-Zakzaky, who has been detained after the clash between members of his Islamic group and soldiers in Zaria, leading to several casualties in December, last year.

Members of IMN reacted to the court judgment in Kaduna yesterday, saying that the judiciary has vindicated them over the infringement of their fundamental human rights and violent assault on the Shiites by agents of the government.

In a statement by the spokesman of IMN, Mallam Ibrahim Musa, he said that “The Islamic Movement in Nigeria welcome this historic judgment that has vindicated our earlier stand that the continued detention of our leader is an infringement on his fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the constitution”, pointing out that “however we are not unmindful of the penchant of this government to disregard court orders on spurious excuses”.

Musa remarked: “We therefore call on the federal government to respect the rule of law and obey the court order of the federal High court in Abuja.

“We believe obedience to this court order will be a strong indication from the federal government of its intent to do justice to the Zaria pogrom of December 12, 2015.

“ It should not listen to the hawks in government who are bent on executing a foreign sectarian agenda against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. We wish to assure the general public and the international community of our determination not to be intimidated to take the path of violence, as our detractors would want us to.

“Our leader, Sheikh Zakzaky has been a man of peace for almost four decades as Islam preaches, and we will not deviate from that path. As we thank all the good people of Nigeria and human right activists here in Nigeria and beyond that have stood by us in our demand for justice, we wish to call on them to prevail on the federal government to release Sheikh Zakzaky, his wife and others in detention without further delay.”

The statement further read: “Today, an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court ordered the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky from the custody of State security services. Delivering the judgment, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, rejected the submission of the counsel to the State Security Service, Tijjani Gazali, that Sheikh Zakzaky was kept in protective custody of the DSS. He said the decision to hold the Islamic scholar and his wife for their safety was not based on law.

“Justice Kolawole said the government should within 45 days release the applicant and his family to the police, who shall within 24 hours take them, guarded by escorts, to a safe place of his choice in Kaduna State. He added that the SSS would pay a fine of N25 million each to Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife, making N50 million.”

0 Comments