Shiites decry FG’s refusal to allow Sheik Zakzaky, wife access proper medication

By Biola Adebayo On Jun 30, 2021

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has expressed worry over the refusal of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to allow its Leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenah, to have access to proper medical care.

The Secretary of the Academic Forum of IMN, Abdullahi Muhammad Musa, on Wednesday in a statement in Abuja, said President Buhari and his government would be held responsible if anything should happen to the duo.

The statement said that El-Zakzaky and his wife are currently in need of a state-of-the-art medical facility, noting that their health condition is deteriorating each passing day.

“Nearly a year ago, on the 24th of October, 2020 to be exact, a visit to Sheikh El-Zakzaky by his one and only surviving son, Mohammed, revealed that although the Sheikh and his wife were alive, proper medical attention was all they needed in earnest,’’ said the statement.

“Yet, if the condition has ever changed, it is for the worst. Right now, they could only do with a state-of-the-art medical facility.

“Up to now, they have been suffering from many injuries in their bodies and resultant multiple life-threatening health challenges.

“Even so, the current health condition of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife is causing considerable distress.

“It is also a constant source of worry to many a Nigerian citizen. Therefore, it is worth public attention as it continues to deteriorate by the day.

“Of course, there is more to the Buhari regime’s willful denial of proper medication to the couple than meets the eye; and such dilly-dallying is a matter of great concern.

“It is another cause for alarm because it is nothing but a move to complete what they started at the tail end of 2015.

“Considering the developments, we are making it categorically clear that Buhari, along with his stooges, will be held responsible for whatever happens to Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife,” It said.

The statement said the secretary of the group noted that it is disheartening that their leader and his wife are being held in detention in defiance of several court orders.

Buhari continues to hold them without the required medical or surgical treatment.

“For instance, on 24th February 2020, Kaduna High Court affirmed them unfit for trial. So an order was immediately given by Justice Gideon Kurada, directing the officials of the central prison in Kaduna to grant them access to their doctors, but all to little or no avail.

“Again, in a reckless disregard for laws, the Buhari regime has ignored the Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole on the 2nd of December, 2016.

“If a government bends the laws to pursue an unjust cause, it will simply buttress its position on the rule of law as not having one iota of integrity and truth.

“Laws based on equal rights and the principles of justice are a recipe for peace and unity.

“Otherwise, no nation outlives the dangerous and grievous after-effects of its milito-cratic leanings and the attendant brazen disrespect for the rule of law.

“When rulers continue to unfairly present a caricature of the laws that won them the mandate they wield in a vicious manner, know that injustice is already rife and pervasive,” he said.

In the statement, Musa, who condemned their continued detention, said: “we will continue to protest, calling for their immediate and unconditional release.”