The Kaduna state government says
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), must not
seek asylum in India.
In a statement signed by Samuel
Aruwan, commissioner for internal security and home affairs, the government of
Kaduna which is currently prosecuting El-Zakzaky, said steps must be taken to
ensure the IMN leader and Zeenah, his wife, do not become fugitives from
justice.
The government said the duo
should not frustrate the trial by claiming asylum or the status of political
prisoners in India.
On Monday, a high court in Kaduna
granted El-Zakzaky and his wife the permission to travel to India for
treatment. They have been in detention since 2015 following a clash between IMN
members and some soldiers.
Through Femi Falana, their
counsel, El-Zakzaky and his wife had applied for medical leave, citing poor
health.
But Aruwan said while the
government is not opposed to anyone seeking medical treatment in any part of
the world, so long it is not at the expense of the government, it has filed for
strict supervision of the medical leave.
“Malam Ibrahim El-Zakzaky is
facing criminal trial before the Kaduna High Court on charges filed in April
2018. The Kaduna State Government is prosecuting Malam Ibrahim El-Zakzaky on an
eight-count charge, including culpable homicide punishable with death,” the
statement read.
“On Monday, 5th August 2019, the
Kaduna High Court granted an application for medical leave filed by Mr.
El-Zakzaky and his wife, Mrs. Zeenah Ibrahim. The court specifically said it
was granting the two defendants ‘leave to travel out of Nigeria for urgent
medical treatment at Medanta Hospital, India, under strict supervision of the
Respondent and to return to Nigeria (for continuation of trial) as soon as they
are discharged from the hospital’.
“The Kaduna State Government respects
the right of anyone to seek treatment anywhere in the world, even for malaria
or common cold, so long as they are paying for it. But in the case of persons
facing trial for serious offenses, necessary safeguards are required to ensure
that such persons do not become fugitives from justice or frustrate trial by
claiming asylum or the status of political prisoner in the host country.”
Aruwan said while the Kaduna
government respects the court’s ruling on medical leave, it is not in agreement
with the premises on which it is based, and will, therefore, file an appeal.
The statement said El-Zakzaky and
his wife consented to being held in custody of the Department of State Services
(DSS).
“The court ordered that the
defendants be kept in prison custody and that the defendants be allowed access
to their personal physicians alongside physicians of the State. However, at his
request, Mr. Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife are being kept in SSS facilities
which were deemed more comfortable than the Kaduna Prison,” the statement read.
“The trial suffered initial
delays because the third and fourth defendants/applicants remain at large. That
was the case when the matter first came up in court on 15th May 2018. It was
adjourned till 21st June 2018 because the charges had not been served on the
third and fourth defendants. An accident involving the trial judge further
delayed the hearing scheduled for 21st June 2018. Subsequently, the arraignment
of the first and second defendants was done on 2nd August 2018.
“However, the Kaduna High Court
heard Malam El-Zakzaky’s application for leave to seek medical attention abroad
on Monday, 29th July 2019. At the hearing, counsel to the Kaduna State
Government opposed the application for medical leave largely because it was
based on medical reports not issued by a government medical facility. The court
granted the application on Monday, 5th August 2019.
“It is the considered contention
of the Kaduna State Government that decades of impunity emboldened the IMN to
engage in various unlawful activities culminating in the tragic events of
December 2015. In prosecuting the case, the state government is affirming simple
canons of the rule of law, that no one is above its long arm and that all
persons are equal in its eyes. Mob pressure, such as the carnage visited on the
streets of Abuja to force Mr. El-Zakzaky’s release without due process, cannot
be allowed to succeed.”
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