The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ites have alleged that the Nigerian Police is still withholding 12 corpses of their members killed during their protest demanding for the release of their leader Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife.
The Shi’ites also claimed that the Police was still detaining 63 of their members arrested during the protest without charging them to court.
This is contained in a statement issued by Abdullahi Muhammad Musa on behalf of the Academic Forum of the Islamic movement in Nigeria.
The statement reads: “We wish to inform you that the police still withhold twelve [12] corpses of free-Zakzaky protesters – nine [9] corpses of those killed by the police at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja on Monday, July 22, 2019 combined with three [3] corpses of the injured people arrested and later died in police custody – turning down several attempts from mournful families of the victims requesting for the release of the corpses for funeral prayers according to Islamic injunctions. Seventy-two (72) days after the sad incident, the corpses are still with the police.
“Likewise, the police continue to detain 63 protesters without taking them to Court. Of the 63, 11 people have sustained serious injuries that require urgent medical attention. Despite the criticality of their condition, the police denied their immediate families access to them. And the families’ never-ending requests to be allowed to provide medical treatment to them were downright rejected.
ALSO READ:Â Why Nigeria needs to ban importation of cassava raw materials
“Even protesters injured by the police, but were able to return to their families with various degrees of gun-shot wounds, did not completely get off this atrocious maltreatment. Having started receiving the required medical attention at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, the police raided the hospital, arrested and carted them away to an unknown detention facility at first.
“When the immediate families were tipped off the whereabouts of their sons and daughters, they decided to file a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja demanding for their release. However, having been duly served twice, and received, the court summons, the police turned a deaf ear to it, they failed to appear before the court.
“This unprofessional attitude of detaining free-Zakzaky protesters indiscriminately by the police for almost fourscore days with life-threatening injuries has violated United Nation Human Rights Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. In this regard, women and underage children were not spared, as among those in detention are women and children.
“It is quite inhuman of the Nigeria Police to arrest admitted patients, even receiving treatment, at a hospital only for them to detain the victims without such medical attention elsewhere. Obviously, the rights of the protesters have been violated and the life of those that are still alive in police detention not out of serious danger.
“Therefore, we demand for the release of all the withheld corpses as well as the freedom of our brothers and sisters being detained by the police. Also, we reiterate our demand for the unconditional release of our leader, his Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah.”
and then