On Saturday, some members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) reiterated their demand for the release of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky’s and Malama Zeenatuddin Ibrahim’s travel documents.
The group demanded that all of its brothers who were being held in “different detention facilities illegally without trial” be released immediately.
Senior group member Prof. Shehu Ahmad Maigandi specifically alerted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to “the grave human rights violations against the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, His Eminence, Sheikh Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky (H), his family, and followers by the previous governments of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari” at a press conference in Abuja.
The public might be aware that on March 16, 2013, while Jonathan was president, agents from the Department of State Security (DSS) detained our brother Malam Haruna Abbas at the Aminu Kano International Airport as he was returning from a trip abroad, according to Maigandi. At their respective homes, two additional brothers, Adamu Suleiman and Ibrahim Hussaini, were also detained.
“The three brothers have now been unlawfully detained for ten years, in violation of their fundamental human rights as Nigerian citizens. In a similar vein, our brother Hassan Muhammad was unlawfully detained after being arrested by the police on November 18, 2015, at his home in Maigana Town, Kaduna state.
“The general public will also recall that Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) and his wife Malama Zeenah Ibraheem’s medical reports, which were provided to the Kaduna State High Court in 2019 through their attorney, Femi Falana, SAN, resulted in a favourable court decision regarding the couple’s medical leave to India. The couple’s health situation necessitates not only the use of qualified medical personnel, but also a cutting-edge medical facility with the most recent technology, the court acknowledges.
“The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Department of State Services (DSS) seized the couple’s travel documents while they were on the medical trip to India. Because the medical leave was approved by the Kaduna State High Court and did not call for the security guards to take their passports, the seizure of the passports was unlawful. It is clear that the government is manipulating the rules in order to advance an unfair cause.
“In light of the aforementioned, we demand that:
“Unconditional release of the three imams, Haruna Abbas, Ibrahim Hussaini, and Adamu Suleiman, who have been held since 2013 in an uncertain manner;
“Prosecution of those responsible for the July 25, 2014, murders of Sheikh Zakzaky’s three biological sons and 31 other people;
“Unconditional release of Malam Hassan Muhammad and other brothers unlawfully detained without charge or trial in various detention facilities;
The investigation and prosecution of the Zaria Massacre’s planners and perpetrators in accordance with Nigerian law and pertinent international conventions
The removal of the travel ban on Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, as well as the unconditional release of their travel documents. 5) The unconditional release of Free Zakzaky protesters Ibrahim Khalid and 49 other people who have been detained since July 22, 2019.
