Iran Press/Africa: Two people also sustained injuries on Tuesday when the Nigerian army opened fire on protesters demanding the release of top Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been held for four years on trumped-up allegations.
Dozens of supporters of the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), who has been held since December 2015 following a deadly raid by the Nigerian army troops on his residence in the country’s northern Kaduna State, took to the streets, calling for his immediate freedom, PressTV reported.
The development came nearly a week after Nigerian police used live bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse Muslim demonstrators calling for the speedy release of Sheikh Zakzaky.
Suppression of Sheikh Zakzaky
Sheikh Zakzaky, who is in his mid-sixties, lost his left eyesight when Nigerian government forces raided the northern town of Zaria more than three years ago. His wife also sustained serious wounds while more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons were killed in the violence.
The cleric has been kept in custody along with his wife and a large number of his followers ever since.
In late 2016 a federal court ruled Sheikh Zakzaky’s detention and that of his wife Zeenah unlawful and unconstitutional and ordered the government to release them by January 16, 2017, and pay compensation.
That order was never implemented and the charges were brought against the couple in 2018. In reality, the charges are designed to deflect government responsibility for the planned and systematic 2015 attack by soldiers which is now the subject of a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court.
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