Zakzaky needs a doctor —Shi’ite

THE Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has said its spiritual leader, who is currently being detained, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, urgently needs a doctor because of his deteriorating health condition.

They made their stand known on Wednesday, when hundreds of the sect members took to the street, calling for immediate and unconditional release.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the protest, a leading cleric of the movement, Sheikh Abdulhamid Bello, condemned the continued detention of the leader of the movement as illegal and a violation of his fundamental human rights.

The cleric added that the IMN would not compromise its call for the release of its leader, describing the massive protest as just the beginning.

He said the detention of Sheikh Zakzaky by the Nigerian government and also denying him the right to medical attention, despite his deteriorating health condition was an outright violation of the tenets of democracy and civility, and must be condemned by all right-thinking persons.

Members of the IMN, men, women and children stormed the Kaduna metropolis, carrying placards, posters and banners calling for the release of their revered leader, chanting “Free Our Leader! Free Sheikh Zakzaky! A very prominent banner carried the inscription “Zakzaky needs a doctor.”

It will be recalled that the Kaduna State government had set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) to investigate the wanton killings of the IMN members by the Nigerian Army in December 2015, the report  which had since been submitted to Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai and recently made public.