Nigerians
in the United Kingdom, Thursday, demanded the immediate prosecution of
the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibraheem
El-Zakzaky for alleged terror related activities, saying the prosecution
became necessary, as he (El-Zakzaky) has been indicted by
investigations into a faceoff between his group and the army in December
2015.
They took to the streets of London, in the United Kingdom to demand the prosecution of the Shi’ite leader.
Recall
that El-Zakyzaky has remained in detention since being arrested
following the incident that made the military launched an operation to
clear out members of his group, who obstructed the convoy of the Chief
of Army Staff and reportedly made an attempt on his life.
The
Movement of the People of Nigeria, whose members protested at the
Commonwealth Secretariat, in London, alleged that the delay in
arraigning the IMN leader as a mistake that has made his followers
bolder and more dangerous.
The movement also slammed
Iran for interfering in the affairs of Nigeria by its backing for the
IMN, which it described as a terror organisation with a demand that IMN
members also be tried and their finances investigated for subversion for
inviting Iranian intervention in Nigeria’s internal affairs. UK
Coordinator of the Movement of the People of Nigeria, Joe Mayowa warned
that the protests would spread to other world cities and major Nigerian
cities if the federal government fails to immediately begin prosecution
of El-Zakyzaky and other IMN leaders that were indicted by several
reports on his group’s faceoff with the army last year.
In
a statement on behalf of the movement, Mayowa noted that that the
federal government had made similar mistake in the past when founding
members of the Boko Haram terror group were not diligently prosecuted.
He said: “It was that mistake that bred the bloodthirsty horde that
carried out attacks in Abuja and some other cities in Nigeria. Nationals
of Commonwealth nations were killed in those attacks.
The
decision not to prosecute pioneer Boko Haram members was driven by
local politics but the fallout was felt by nationals of all nations on
earth. “A greater mistake is being made by not prosecuting members of
the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) for their acts of violence against
the state and against citizens of Nigeria and Commonwealth nations.
The
group’s members have mirrored every single crime committed by Boko
Haram in its formative years yet nothing significant have been done to
put its members on trial for breaching the peace in manners that
resulted in the loss of life.
“It may also not be a
mistake, in which case the delay in prosecuting detained IMN leaders
could be a silent plea for international backing by the Nigerian
government. It is important the world is able to reassure the Government
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that they have the world’s support
for nipping the growing terror of IMN in the bud.
“A
clear message must be sent to the government that the firmness with
which it deals with the IMN threat is a matter global interest as any
fallout from delay in dealing with the threat posed by the group will
affect the whole world.
“For the avoidance of doubt,
events of December 2015, when IMN members made an attempt on the life of
a senior administration official sparked off chains of events that
proved the group is not to be treated with kid’s gloves. Those events
exposed the fact that the IMN has the capacity to take on the Nigerian
state in battle and would not shy away from attempting it if drastic
measures that enjoy international support are not taken.
“The
result of several investigations of those events is profound. They all
want the prosecution of the IMN leader, Mr Ibraheem El-Zakyzaky and all
those that supported him in that insurrection. The Kaduna State Judicial
Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Nasir El-Rufai clearly
indicted him and recommended him for prosecution. “The report of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHCR) specifically demanded an
immediate trial of El-Zakyzaky and his supporters for causing that
injurious breach of the peace,” he stressed.