The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, said on Sunday that it was not blown away by the Saturday afternoon media interview which the State Security Service arranged for its detained leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The members said only an unconditional release of their leader as ordered by federal courts would be acceptable.
Mr. El-Zakzaky was publicly seen Saturday for the first time since he was taken into custody after the Nigerian Army raided his compound and killed many of his followers in December 2015.
Mr. El-Zakzaky was himself seriously brutalised during the incident when the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, was delayed from passing through Zaria by IMN members, who were on a procession.
At least 347 people were killed in the ensuing military assault on a neighbourhood occupied predominantly by IMN members in the university town.
All the members were subsequently buried in mass graves supervised by the Kaduna State Government.
The incident was condemned by rights organisations across the world, including by Amnesty International which called for a thorough investigation and prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Mr. El-Zakzaky had received court rulings for the SSS to set him free without preconditions, but the state police rebuffed the court orders and said it was keeping the religious leader in “protective custody” for his own good.
A judicial panel of enquiry set up by the state government also found the Nigerian Army culpable in the massacre, recommending Adeniyi Oyebade, then Grand Officer Commanding of Nigerian Army 2 Division, and his subordinates to stand trial for murder. That recommendation was, however, dropped by the state government.
The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is currently proceeding with its preliminary investigations into the massacre.
Until yesterday, neither Mr. El-Zakzaky nor his wife, who was also detained with him, had been seen in public.
But the wife was not seen in the media interview, which the SSS arranged with a select number of reporters to dispel rumours of Mr. El-Zakzaky’s death.
The rumours capped a week of extensive protests that sparked clashes between IMN members and the police.
The followers were demanding Mr. El-Zakzaky’s release from custody.
Mr. El-Zakzaky said in the short video that he was recovering well in SSS custody and thanked the agency for finally allowing his personal doctors access to him.