From: Islamic Human Rights Commission

22 January 2018

PRESS RELEASE – NIGERIA: Govt rebuked for contempt of court in Ibrahim el-Zakzaky case

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rebuked the country’s government saying it cannot tolerate defiance of its injunctions in respect of the release of the illegally detained leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.

The move came as judges sat to hear a government appeal against a court order made over a year ago that Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife be released.

That order of the Federal High Court on 2 December 2016 demanded that the pair be freed within 45 days as their incarceration was illegal and unconstitutional.

In spite of the court order the Zakzakys have remained in the custody of the state putting it in clear contempt of court.

Shaykh Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah have been held by state security services since December 2015 along with other members and supporters of the movement following their arrest during a savage military assault against the movement in December 2015. Both were shot during the attack in Zaria in which at least 1000 supporters, including three sons of the couple, were killed and many properties and religious spaces belonging to the movement and its followers destroyed.

The Court of Appeal also gave the government three days to file more evidence to support its appeal.

Notes to editors:

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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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