Government is responsible if Sheikh Zakzaky dies in custody

The Shiites again urged the government to immediately obey the court judgment ordering his release and wife for urgent medical attention, Guardian reported.

According to a statement issued by its spokesman, Mallam Ibrahim Musa, “the doctor assigned to attend to our illegally detained leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, has clearly told the authorities detaining him that he could go blind if not given the proper medical attention he deserves without further delay.’’
According to IMN, ZakZaky has been denied access to his own doctor alleging that with the way he has been treated, government wants him to die. “Thus far, the government has decided to play deaf, dumb and blind, as if all is well. The continued detention, illegally, in what it termed protective custody, against court orders and despite the doctor’s red alert is objectionable and condemnable. It is a moral obligation upon all people of conscience to show support and empathy to the plight of the oppressed Sheikh. Something urgent must be in place to save the deteriorating eye of Sheikh Zakzaky.”

IMN appealed to Nigerians to join them in mounting pressure on government to release him, in compliance with court order and to enable him attend to his health.

The group also called on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to obey court order and free Sheikh Zakzaky.

The prominent cleric and his wife were taken into custody on December 14, 2115, after deadly clashes between the supporters of the IMN movement and Nigerian troops.

Nearly 350 members of the Shia movement were killed in the clashes. The sheikh was brutally injured and his house was reportedly destroyed by the army in the incident.

The judge said he had given 45 days for authorities to provide new accommodation for the Zakzaky family. The accommodation is to be in the town of Zaria, Kaduna state, where the family were detained, or in other parts of the state or alternatively any other part of northern Nigeria.

Kolawole said the State Security Service would pay each of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife $78,984 in compensation for the violation of their rights by being held in unlawful custody for nearly a year.

Nearly 100 IMN supporters were killed when Nigerian forces fired live rounds and tear gas at mourners during a peaceful march ahead of the Arbaeen mourning rituals, which mark 40 days after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam. Authorities also destroyed a number of buildings belonging to the IMN.

The Nigerian government has stepped up its crackdown on the IMN since the December 2015 deadly incident.