TheCable

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says Zeenat, wife of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), never contracted the coronavirus.

John Mrabure, acting controller-general, NCoS, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday by Francis Enobore, service public relations officer (SPRO), controller of corrections.

Mohammed, son of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, had claimed that his mother contracted the virus while in custody in Kaduna, and requested her evacuation to an isolation centre.

A Kaduna state high court had also asked the state correctional service to release Zeenat for COVID-19 treatment.

However, the court revoked the order after an oral application made by H.G. Magashi from the chambers of Femi Falana, her counsel, who claimed that the defendant had regained her health.

According to NAN, the NCoS was not convinced about the report on Zeenat contracting COVID-19, and it was decided that she’d be tested for the virus.

He added that the decision was taken in collaboration with the state government, Zeenat’s personal physician, and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the state.

“Happily, the test result has been released and the inmate, including her contacts, have no trace of COVID-19 virus,” the statement by the prisons spokesman reads.

“It is important to state with emphasis that Zeenat El-Zakzaky never contracted COVID-19 infection as it was alleged.”

El-Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since 2015 after his followers clashed with soldiers in Kaduna.

The IMN leader is standing trial for alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace.