TheCable

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has described the judgement of the Kaduna state high court freeing Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, its leader and his wife, Zeenat, as a victory against tyranny and impunity. 

El-Zakzaky and Zeenat were freed on Wednesday after Gideon Kurada, the presiding judge, ruled on a no-case submission filed by Femi Falana, their lawyer.

The judge held that the Kaduna state government failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants.

El-Zakzaky and his wife were arraigned on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of public peace, among others.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

The duo had been in detention since December 2015 following clashes between IMN members and soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna state.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ibrahim Musa, spokesperson for IMN, said the judgement has vindicated all members of the group.

Musa said the victory is “perseverance in the face of extreme persecution by the Nigerian government”.

“With this victory in court today, the false charges filed against them has finally been punctured for good after almost five years of excruciating illegal detention,” the statement reads.

“This judgement has not only vindicated them and all members of the Islamic movement in Nigeria, but it is certainly a victory for perseverance in the face of extreme persecution by the Nigerian government. It is a victory for truth and justice against tyranny and impunity.

“It will be recalled that the Kaduna state government filed charges against Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife as an afterthought a year and a half after a federal high court in Abuja had ruled that their continued detention was unconstitutional, illegal and a severe breach of their fundamental rights and thereby must be set free and compensated.

“The government however remained in contempt until they decided to frame these spurious false charges in an attempt to perpetually keep them in their illegal custody.

“We, therefore, give praises to the Almighty for yet another successful outing, which further proves to the world that the Islamic Movement and its leader, are only victims of impunity and mischievous plots by both the Buhari-led federal government and the El-Rufai-led Kaduna state government.”

IMN asked the federal government to respect the judgement of the court and release El-Zakzaky and his wife with immediate effect.