Alwaght- Nearly 200 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) have been arraigned in court with trumped- up charges of possession of weapons and causing a public disorder.
Nigerian prosecutors on Wednesday charged 191 members of the group with illegal possession of firearms and creating public disturbance and incitement.
The court hearing was held inside the central prison of the northern city of Kaduna, where suspects have been detained.
The trump - up charges fabricated by the Nigerian regime were read against them, they pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned to 29th February. Four were granted bail on medical grounds while the rest remain in prison custody.
“My clients were arraigned today (Wednesday) in court for the first time since they were arrested following the incidents in Zaria in December last year," said defense lawyer Husseini Ibrahim after the court session.
But the most surprising among the charges was that the Nigerian authorities claimed that weapons were recovered from the members of IMN. But the weapons were not presented in court t as they claimed the weapons are in Lagos.
Critics say if the members of IMN had weapons as claimed by the Nigerian Army, why is it that no single soldier was killed?
On December 12, Nigerian troops attacked Muslims attending a ceremony at a religious center in Zaria, accusing them of blocking the convoy of Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai and attempting to assassinate him. The Islamic Movement has categorically denied the allegation.
The following day, Nigerian forces raided the house of IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, and arrested him after killing those attempting to protect him. Sheikh Zakzaky received gunshot injuries himself. According to human rights groups, as many as 1,000 people may have been killed in the raid.
The Leader of IMN, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky who was shot six times and his wife who was shot twice according to reports are held incommunicado by the Nigerian regime. In violation of their fundamental human rights they are denied visits by their lawyers and close relatives.
The Islamic Movement of Nigeria led by Sheikh Zakzaky has been at the forefront of opposing the Boko Haram terrorist group in the country.
