Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has asked the Federal Government to immediately release Shiite leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-zakzaky from custody.
El-Zakzaky had to speak out on Saturday to dispel rumours that made round the social media that he had died in custody, telling Nigerians that he was alive.
In a statement on Sunday, Falana said although he was compelled to dismiss the dangerous rumour via a public statement, the Shiite leader and his wife should be released by the Federal Government for urgent medical attention.
“Instead of acceding to my request, the State Security Service mis-informed Sheik El-akzaky and his wife of the readiness of the Federal government to release them after a media parade to assure the Shia community that the Sheik is alive and well. Hence, they agreed to the media parade which lasted for one minute and 20 seconds in an undisclosed detention custody in Abuja.
“But contrary to the official claim that the Shiite leader is hale and hearty, he is currently wearing a neck collar support which was procured for him when he fell sometime last December. That was when his personal doctor was allowed to examine him for the first time in his over 2-year detention period.
“Before the neck injury, he had lost his left eye while the recommendation of eye specialists that he be flown abroad to save the right eye and prevent him from going totally blind has been ignored by the federal government. In fact, the medical state of his wife is by far worse than his. She has been subjected to excruciating pain as some of the bullets deposited in her body on December 14, 2015 during the military invasion of their home in Zaria have not been removed.
“Hence, the organisers of the media parade deliberately prevented her from addressing the media representatives even though she was present at the so-called press conference,” he said.
According to Falana, after illegally parading the couple before the media, the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency proceed to purge itself of the aggravated contempt of the Federal High Court by complying with the order for their release from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.
“The order which was made on December 2, 2016 has not been set aside by any higher court. Yet, the federal government which claims to operate under the Rule of Law has ignored the court order. However, if the federal government does not want to end the official impunity of treating a valid and subsisting court order with disdain it should release the El-Zakzakys to their children who have applied to take them abroad for urgent medical treatment.
“This request is in line with Nigerian Prison Regulation 12 which stipulates that even convicts shall be released to their relatives or friends if the prison has no facilities for treating them. In Fawehinmi v The State (1990) 1 NWLR (pt 127) 486 the appellant was granted bail and released on bail pending trial by a military junta,” he said.
Falana stated that the situation should not be worse under a democratic dispensation, saying that in the instant case, the El-zakzakys had not been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever.
“Instead of chasing the shadow by subjecting the couple to illegal media parade, the federal government should direct the State Security Service to release them from illegal incarceration without any further delay,’ he said.
