Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have staged a national peaceful protest in Kaduna calling on the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to obey court order and release their leader.
Carrying posters of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky with inscriptions freeZakzaky on them, members of the movement, on Thursday concluded their protest with a speech by Sheikh Qasim Umar.
He called on the acting president to set a good precedence by obeying court order in his position as a professor and a SAN.
The Movement in a statement signed by its spokesperson,Ibrahim Musa and issued after the protest condemned the unlawful dentention of its leader and the inhumane treatment meted out on its members by the federal government.
“If we say the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is the most oppressed community in recent Nigerian history, it is not an overstatement. Please consider the following facts: Within 48 hours the Nigerian army massacred over 1000 unarmed civilians in Zaria in December, 2015. Where in the annals of Nigerian history has such a tragedy taken place, without the leadership of the country battling an eyelid of concern?
“The atrocities committed by the Army are the first of its kind by any national and supposedly well-trained army. They burnt the senior Sister to Sheikh Zakzaky and several others alive. They burnt hundreds in Zaria, which is why probably the Kaduna state government was only able to document the death of 347 people at the hands of the Nigerian Army.
“The most intriguing aspect of the oppression visited upon us is the continued detention of our leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, even after a Federal High Court order to release them”, the statement read.
Citing the above reasons for the justification of its protest,the movement said it remained focus and resolute in its demand for justice and release of its leader no matter the intimidation.
“This is our right, and nobody will deny us this right. We call on the general public and the international community to bear witness to this calamitous oppression against us as a community. Zaria massacre and its after effects in other states can’t be pushed under the carpet, because there are many thousands living witnesses to it”, the movement said.
