TheCable

Darius Khobo, presiding judge of the Kaduna state high court, on Thursday, adjourned hearing on the motion for an application by Ibrahim El-Zakzaky to seek medical attention in India.

Khobo adjourned the hearing till July 29 following request by the prosecution counsel to be given time to study the defence counsel’s response to the application.

El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ites, is facing trial over allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace, among others.

The Shi’ite leader has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since December 2015.

Femi Falana, El-Zakzaky’s counsel, informed the court that the IMN leader’s health condition was deteriorating and he needed urgent medical treatment abroad.

He said El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, had not received adequate medical attention in detention.

Dari Bayero, the state director of public prosecution, however, objected to the application.

“The state prosecutors responded to the bail application only yesterday (Wednesday) and we responded today (Thursday) and they were served, but they insisted that they need to study our response and that is the basis for the adjournment of the case to next week Thursday, July 29, by His Lordship Justice Darius Khobo,” Maxwell Kyon, one of the counsels to El-Zakzaky, told TheCable.

El-Zakaky’s followers have been demanding his release, staging massive protests, some times resulting in violence clashes with the police.