Members of the house of
representatives have asked the federal government to obey the court orders
directing the release of Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in
Nigeria (IMN).
At plenary on Wednesday, the
lawmakers said IMN members who have been protesting their leader’s continued
detention could wreak more havoc.
El-Zakzaky was arrested after the
group better known as Shi’ites clashed with a convoy of the chief of army staff
in Kaduna state in 2015.
Different courts have granted him
bail but the government has insisted on detaining him thereby agitating his
followers who invaded the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday.
At plenary on Wednesday, Ndudi
Elumelu, minority leader, introduced a motion calling on his colleagues to
probe the matter and ensure adequate security measures are in place at the
legislative chamber.
While some of his colleagues
agreed with the need for improved security, others emphasised that they should
instead address “the root cause” of the protests which they identified as the
continued detention of el-Zakzaky.
They argued that the
circumstances surrounding the matter are similar to what led to the emergence
of the Boko Haram insurgent group.
Onofiok Luke from Akwa Ibom said
it is unfortunate that while the lawmakers are empowered to make laws, the
federal government is going against the rule of law in disobedience to the
court orders ordering the release of the IMN leader.
“If the court has given an order
for the release of the man, we should cal on the government to release him. The
discourse should not be on the invasion of the national assembly alone,” he
said.
Bamidele Salam from Osun state said
El-Zakzaky’s continued detention is injustice and “injustice to one is
injustice to all.”
“I want to urge the federal
government to look into the matter of the leader of this movement and allow the
rule of law to take its course … to ensure that Boko Haram is not replicated in
Shiites movement,” he said.
“If we are able to secure the
national assembly, what happens to the man and woman in the market elsewhere?“
Simon Davou from Plateau state
said rather than detain el-Zakzaky against court orders, the government should
release him “and ensure surveillance, with enough security operatives to
monitor his activities.”
Lai Mohammed, former minister of
information, had in defence of the Islamic leader’s continued detention said
last year, that no one wants to accept him as a neighbour.
“The court ruled that he will be
released after his house has been rebuilt. Nobody wants to accept El-Zakzaky as
a neighbor,” he had said during a Channels TV programme. So we have been able
to build a house, where do we release him to?”
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