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Kaduna Files Terrorism, Treasonable Felony Charges Against El-Zakzaky

Published

3 years ago

July 31, 2021

The Kaduna State Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Dari Bayero yesterday confirmed to THISDAY that the government had filed fresh charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony against the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky..

He said the new charges were filed on July 26, at the federal High Court, Kaduna, just two days before the IMN’s leader and his wife, Zeenat, were freed by Justice Gideon Kurada on eight count charge of culpable homicide, disruption of public peace, unlawful assembly among others.

Bayero said the fresh charges of terrorism and treasonable felony against El-Zakzaky would be jointly prosecuted by the Federal and Kaduna State governments.

He said: “The terrorism case was filed based on the utterances of El-Zakzaky, under section 17 (A) of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013. He will face a nine-count charge at the Federal High Court, Kaduna. We even attempted to serve him while in prison before the ruling, he refused to collect it. There is evidence to that effect. An affidavit will be duly sworn to that effect. We couldn’t move forward quickly because the Federal High Court is on vacation.

“This case is supposed to be done in conjunction with the federal government. The Federal Ministry of Justice will send a team to come and prosecute with us.”

Bayero also said the state government would appeal against the no case ruling of the state High Court in favour of the IMN’s leader.

“Of course we will appeal against the ruling. We have applied for the ruling and as soon as that is made available to us, we will go on appeal. Definitely we will go on appeal. We have informed the court on our decision to appeal against the ruling,” he said.

However, in his reaction, the spokesman of the IMN, Ibrahim Musa, said he was not aware of any new case filed against El-Zakzaky in any court.

“My findings indicated that there are no court papers served to our leader. Definitely we are not aware of the charge in another court,” Musa said.

He, however, admitted that a day before the judgement of the state High Court, there was an attempt to serve El-Zakzaky some court papers.

“We are aware that a day before the judgment at the state High Court, they tried to make such moves but there was no judge assigned, no court assigned for the case and we were not served with the papers.

“So it might be an attempt by them. But in reality our Sheikh or his lawyers have not been served any court papers,” the IMN spokesman told THISDAY.

In the no case submission filed by El-Zakzaky’s counsels, led by Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Justice Kurada declared that the IMN’s leader and his wife, who had been in detention for over five years, had no case to answer, because the Kaduna government failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants, and accordingly discharged and acquitted them.

Shortly after his victory in court on Wednesday, El-Zakzaky and his wife were immediately discharged from the Kaduna Correctional Centre.

Sources said they were taken to a resident of one of his followers in Abuja, “because his Zaria residence and properties of the IMN had been demolished by the Kaduna State Government after his arrest in December 2015.”

The source said El-Zakzaky’s family members, his followers and well-wishers, had been visiting him in his new abode in Abuja since Thursday.

Musa said the IMN leader’s left Kaduna for Abuja on Thursday.

“He is now in Abuja, I can’t say he has a house in Abuja, but you know as somebody with many followers, he will not lack a place to stay,” Musa said.