28 July: Zakzaky, Wife Need Justice

By Emmanuel Zakka Audu

In the the next two days, On 28 of July, A Kaduna High Court will rule on the No-case-submission filed by the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, and his wife Zeenat Ibrahim.

Justice Gideon Kurada of the Kaduna State High Court 3, fixed the date after the prosecution and counsel to the defendants, addressed the court on the no case submission prayer.

Mr Femi Falana, SAN, and lead Counsel to El-Zakzaky, prayed the Court to rule in favor of his clients (Sheikh Zakzaky). He said ,“The prosecution and the defence addressed the court on the the no-case-submission prayer. We did indicate last time that even though the prosecution called 15 witnesses, we felt that no case has been established to warrant our clients being in court. In other words, we addressed the court that there is nothing to defend.

The Kaduna State Government charged Sheikh Zakzaky and Malama Zeenat with eight counts, bordering on alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace, among other charges.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Kaduna state government filed an eight-count charge of homicide against leader of the Islamic movement of Nigeria, (IMN) Ibrahim Zakzaky, and three others.

The charges were filed on April 18.
The defendants are Sheikh Zazaky, Zeenah Ibrahim, Yakubu Yahaya Katsina and Sanusi Koki. Later Kaduna State amends the Charges remove Yakubu Yahaya Katsina nad Sanusi Koki in the case.

Following the attack by, the army under Mr Buratai’s watch, attacked and killed over 1000 members of the IMN including 3 Biological children of Sheikh Zakzaky.

The killings was confirmed by various reports including outcomes of investigations by the human rights watch and the Kaduna state government Judicial Commission of Inquiry.

After the attacked, Sheikh Zakzaky was arrested alongside his wife and detained by security operatives.

Despite a court order for their release in December 2016, by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, the IMN leaders have remained in custody till date.

Though the prosecution called 15 witnesses, but no one among the 15 witnesses link Sheikh Zakzaky or his wife with what happened on 15 December 2015. Most of them told the Court that they never meet Sheikh neither his Wife. So that no case has been established against Sheikh and his Wife.

The Same Kaduna State High Court Discharged and Acquits 100 members of Shiites on Friday, 21/2/2020. Again secured a favourable judgement in the case brought before the Kaduna State High Court against the last batch of its members detained since December 2015 following the heinous attacks by the Nigerian Army in Zaria. The court discharged and acquitted all the 100 remaining accused members and vindicated the Islamic Movement, thereby absolving both the leadership and membership of any blame in the events leading up to the Zaria massacre.

This concludes the four-year legal battle, in which the Kaduna state government sued almost close to 200 members of the Islamic Movement after an attack on the Movement by the Nigerian Army in December 2015 that led to the killing of over a thousand innocent souls, and a secret mass grave burial. Of the survivors of that horrendous attack falsely accused by the Kaduna state government, a Kaduna State High Court had earlier discharged and acquitted about a hundred of them since the 31st of July, 2018. They all stood trial for sundry offenses, including culpable homicide punishable by death.

Kaduna State Government are charging Sheikh and his Wife of abetting or helping those 200 shiites members to attack Buratai, but Court discharged and acquited all of them.

Emmanuel wrote from Aliyu Makama road, Barnawa Kaduna, Kaduna State