AhlulBayt News Agency

source : ABNA
Thursday

19 January 2017

4:05:55 PM
805941

Shiites protest across Northern Nigeria, demand El-Zakzaky’s release

Thousands of Shiite IMN members on Wednesday held protest marches in major cities across northern Nigeria to demand the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention without trial since December 2015.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The protest by the Shiites occurred despite a ban on processions and rallies by governments and security officials of some of the states.

The protests took place in Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kano states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

There was also similar protest at the Nigerian embassy in Tehran, Iran.

The federal government has refused to release Mr. El-Zakzaky despite a court order issued last December.

Sheikh Zakzaky is being unlawfully detained. This might be part of a wider effort to cover up the gruesome crimes committed by members of the security forces in Zaria in December 2015 that left hundreds dead.

On 2 December 2016 the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Sheikh Zakzaky and Malama Zeenah Ibraheem should be released within 45 days. The court described their detention, which began in December 2015, as illegal and unconstitutional. The deadline for the court order expires on Monday 16 January.

Amnesty International is also calling on the authorities to release other IMN supporters arrested at the same time as El Zakzaky and his wife, who likewise remain in detention without charge.

According to Amnesty International’s research, more than 350 IMN members were killed by security forces between 12 and 14 December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State.

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