Court frees El-Zakzaky, wife; says they have no case to answer

A Kaduna State High Court on Wednesday freed the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenah.

In a ruling that lasted over eight hours, the judge, Justice Gideon Kurada, upheld the no-case submission filed by el-Zakzaky and his wife.

The couple has been standing trial in the court for the past four years on an eight-count charge of culpable homicide, disruption of public peace and unlawful assembly, among others, levelled against them by the Kaduna State government.

The Islamic Movement, in a statement on Wednesday by the president of its media forum, Ibrahim Musa, said the judgement was not only a vindication of the Sheikh and his wife as well as all members of the Movement, but “is certainly a victory for perseverance in the face of extreme persecution by the Nigerian government; a victory for truth and justice against tyranny and impunity.”

It said, “We, therefore, give praises to the Almighty for yet another successful outing, which further proves to the world that the Islamic Movement and its leader are only victims of impunity and mischievous plots by both the Buhari-led federal government and the el-Rufai-led Kaduna State government.

“Since both governments have again failed in court after a fair trial, we expect them to respect the judgement of this honourable court and the course of justice to release them with immediate effect.

“We wish to use this opportunity to also say a big thank you to all people of conscience, human rights activists and organizations, journalists and all those that joined in our dogged campaign for justice for the victims of Zaria genocide for the past five years.”