Protesters in hundreds stormed the National Assembly, on Wednesday, over the continued detention of Shi’ite leader, Sheik Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.
The placards-carrying protesters with different inscriptions, started their protest march from the Unity Fountain to the National Assembly.
This, however, forced the Nigerian Army authorities to draft large number of personnel mainly from the Army Brigade Command, Abuja, to “take positions’’ and man strategic locations around the Three Arms Zone.
The convener of the protest, the coalition of civil society groups, led by Prince Deji Adeyanju, said the long and “unwarranted incarceration of the leader” of Shi’itte leader, Sheik el-Zakzaky, even in the face of a Federal High Court, Abuja, order necessitated their protest.
He said the protest was not only to demonstrate solidarity with the detained leader of Shi’ite, but also to draw the attention of the National Assembly to the continued violation of the rights of el-Zakzaky and wife, Hajia Zainab.
According to him, “Our organisation convened this protest due to the fact that today marks the 500 days that el-Zakzaky has been in custody of the Nigerian government without trial.
“The greatest way to fight for peace is when you see that the peace of others is threatened. You do everything humanly possible to ensure that you restore their peace so that you can also have peace.
“When somebody in Kogi State sees trouble in Borno State, he should do everything humanly possible to solve the problem in Borno State, because if he does not, it will get to Kogi State and it will affect him. That is the main reason we are here.”
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