SHIITES DEMAND HEALTH STATUS OF ZAKZAKKY FROM FG.

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has demanded
the full disclosure of the health condition of the
movement’s leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky by
Nigerian security authorities.
A statement by its spokesperson Ibrahim Musa
yesterday said disclosing the health condition of
their leader would douse the tension among the
public and put an end to various rumours making
the rounds about the scholar’s condition.
He said it was worrisome that the condition and
whereabouts of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife are
still unknown, three weeks after their arrest and
detention by the Nigerian military.
Musa said despite the revelation on December 18
last year by the Chief of Army Staff Lt. General
Tukur Buratai that Zakzaky had been transferred
from the army to “appropriate authorities for
prosecution,” all the relevant authorities
contacted denied custody of the sheikh.
“We presumed he meant the Nigerian police.
However to our bewilderment, when a committee
of National Supreme Council for Islamic affairs
(NSCIA) met the Inspector General of police and
demanded to see the Sheikh, he flatly refused.
“Surprisingly while the Nigerian authorities had
announced that he was detained and arraigned in
Kaduna prison, the Controller of Kaduna Prisons,
Abubakar Argungu, denied he was in their
custody. So whom should we believe? This
smacks of deceit, conspiracy and outright
manipulation of the public’s view of the army’s
massacre in Zaria,” he said.
He said the movement and the public “are now
seriously anxious,” asking questions such as
“where is Sheikh Zakzaky and why has he been
denied his constitutional rights to an attorney,
bail and visitation?”
The statement said if the government was
interested in finding a peaceful way out of the
crisis, “it should by now have allowed unimpeded
access to Sheikh Zakzaky,” saying they were
“highly agitated by this seeming needless
incommunicado the Sheikh has been placed in.”
“First and foremost, his first family members and
leading brothers of the Islamic Movement should
have met him in the company of his doctor by
now, since he was shot by the soldiers when they
attacked his residence.”