The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), alias Shiites, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, has filed a law suit against the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), over his continued detention and the refusal of the government to release his travel passport.
The suit which was filed by El-Zakzaky’s legal counsel, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is seeking a sum of N2bn as general and exemplary damages for the violation of El-Zakzaky’s rights to freedom of movement, fair hearing and property.
Some of the 7 reliefs the applicant is seeking include;
– – a declaration that the seizure of his passport with number A50578740 since May 2019 is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates his fundamental right to freedom of movement guaranteed by Section 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, and Article 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act (CAP A9), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
– – the court to declare that the refusal of the DSS and the AGF to allow him to travel abroad for medical treatment constituted a threat to his life as guaranteed by Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution.
– – the court to grant a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further violating his rights.
– –a declaration that the red flag travelling restrictions placed on his passport at land borders by the AGF and the DSS without a court order is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates his right to fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act.
Recall that a Kaduna State High Court had on July 28, 2021. Pronounced El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah discharged and acquitted.
The couple were arrested on December, 2015 following a clash that ensued between the Nigerian Army and Shiite members who were having a procession on a major road in Zaria. The members were said to have blocked the envoy of the then Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, and other road users.
El-Zakzaky in an interview with an Iran based PRESS TV said he suffered lead poisoning with 244 lead metals lodged in his body, while his wife was shot in the thigh.
The transcript of the interview which was sent to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, by the Secretary, Academic Forum of the IMN, Abdullahi Muhammad quoted the leader as saying;
“The bullets in my body scattered; so there are some fragments in my body, hands, thigh and head. I am still living with lead poison in my body, including the fragments of bullets.
“It’s the will of Allah that I’m still alive; because when they tested the level of lead in my body, at one time, it was about 244.
“On July 28 this year, we were discharged and acquitted, and we were exonerated from all the eight charges against us. They were ordered to pay compensation, yet nothing has happened.
“So, the matter has not come to an end. We are still being, in a way, incarcerated because we are not allowed out of the country for no reason.
“They burnt our house to ashes and they were surprised that after killing hundreds of people and burning the house, we were still alive – myself, my wife, my children and some few brothers and sisters. And they opened fire on us. Three of my children were killed before me. My wife and I were wounded, terribly wounded.”
