Alwaght- A Nigerian court has stuck out a suit filed by Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky against the Nigerian army over human rights violations.
Sheikh Zakzaky, through his lawyers, had wanted the army charged over killings of his children; and destruction of his house during an assault in December 2015.
In his suit filed at the Federal High Court in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna IMN leader was also seeking 5.6 million dollars in damages over assault by army troopers that led to the killing of hundreds of his followers in the northern city of Zaria.
Delivering a 45 minutes judgment on Thursday, Justice Salah Musa Shuaibu claimed that where there is an abuse of court proceeding, the striking out of the case is necessary as a similar case is being heard in the capital, Abuja.
Zakzaky’s lawyer, Haruna Magashi, however, argued that the two cases were fundamentally different and the latest judgment was being reviewed before deciding whether to appeal.
“The case before the Abuja federal high court pertains to illegal detention without trial of my client by the DSS (Department of State Services),” he said. “This particular one is about enforcement of human rights, which by law can only be filed at a court within whose jurisdiction the crime was committed.”
In a statement after the judgment, Abdurrahman Abubakar Yola Chairman, Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee said the court shirked in its duties to be on the side of victims of extreme persecution by the government. He added that when it mattered most, the court ducked and failed to stand for truth and justice against tyranny and impunity. Yola pointed out that the judgment will not in any way break our resolve to seek justice in our usual peaceful manner.
“This further proves to the world that the Movement and its leader have been and continue to be only victims of impunity and mischievous plots by the Buhari-led government,” he concluded.
After the Court in Kaduna dismissed the case, a peaceful free Zakzaky protest was staged by youths calling for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky from illegal detention.
Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife have been detained by Nigerian security agencies since a deadly military assault against the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in December 2015.
During that attack in Zaria over 1,000 civilians were killed in a brutal crackdown by Nigerian troops. As the massacre was going on Sheikh Zakzaky was badly assaulted by government troops and lost the use of an arm and one of his eyes.
He was thereafter abducted by security forces and has been in the illegal custody of Nigeria's domestic intelligence agency (DSS). Reports from family members now indicate that he is in real danger of losing his life due to lack of proper medical care as he languishes in detention.
