Outrage as Buhari continues to detain El-Zakzaky after Court granted bail

There has been outrage from members of the Islamic  Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and other stakeholders in the polity over the continuous detention of the Shi’ite Muslims leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, after the Kaduna State High Court had grante4d him bail and permit for medical vacation in India. The IMN had cried out that they were yet to notice the freedom of their leader 24 hours after the court judgment.

National Dailyrecalls that the Kaduna State High Court granted El-Zakzaky’s request to travel to India for medical treatment. The Department of State Services (DSS) was said to have acknowledged the receipt of the court order, with a promise to comply with it.

The Kaduna State High Court had on Monday granted El-Zakzaky bail on health grounds. The court also ordered the release of El-Zakzaky’s wife, Zeenatu.

The court said the prosecution had failed to prove El-Zakzaky would be a flight risk, while the defense team had established that the couple’s health had worsened in custody.

El-Zakzaky has been in detention since 2016 after the clash with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, during the group’s procession in Kaduna in December 2015 which subsequently made soldiers raid the IMN headquarters in Zaria where they killed about 347 Shi’ites.

The elongated detention of El-Zakzaky after series of court bails provoked violent protests in Abuja by IMN members. The accelerating violent protests which resulted in attacks on public institutions and security operatives, leading death of some persons, made the federal government proscribe IMN, declaring it a terrorist organization.