Zakzaky going blind in DSS detention

Detained leader of the Shi’ite sect, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky,‎ has lost his left eye shot during the December Shiite-Army clash in Kaduna, and doctors are battling to save the right one now.

Lagos lawyer Femi Falana holding brief for the Islamic organisation said armed soldiers shot Zakzaky and his wife severally during the attack after which the leader and his wife were taken into custody.

“To compound the physical pain and mental anguish that our clients were subjected to in the circumstance, the Nigeria Police Force and State Security Service have held them incommunicado for the past three and half months,” Falana said in a letter to the State Security Service, demanding Mr. El-Zakzaky’s immediate release,

The December clash, which occurred between the group and the security details of COAS Gen. Tukur Buratai visiting the state, followed a similar one in 2014 when armed soldiers were dispatched. Three sons of Zakzaky were killed in the violence.

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The army said the attack on Buratai was an assassination attempt, and going by their rule of engagement, they had to respond. More than 300 Shiites were believed to have been killed in the attack.

The Kaduna government initiated an enquiry into the incident. “The report of the fact-finding Commission of Enquiry set up by the government has not seen the light of day,” Falana said.

But recently, Gov. Nasir El Rufai said the duration of the inquisition has been extended by four weeks.