After Initial Hiccups El-Zakzaky Commences Treatment In India
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After initial hiccups, the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem el- Zakzaky, wednesday started receiving treatment at Medanta Hospital, New Delhi, India, where he was flown to on Monday along with his wife, Zeenah. He also complained about the tight security situation in the hospital, contending that the facility was worse than the detention centre he was kept in Nigeria. But Musa confirmed later yesterday that after el-Zakzaky’s initial protest, he was given access to doctors of his choice and that the cleric had begun some medical procedures to restore him to good health. "All the issues have been resolved," he told THISDAY in text message.tinyurl.com He explained that the cleric and his wife’s medical trip was sponsored by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and that the body had intervened in the dispute.
The commission had in its website wednesday issued an update confirming that both el-Zakzaky and Zeenah had been given access to their doctors. A Kaduna State High Court, in a ruling last week, had granted el-Zakzaky and Zeenah leave to travel to India for the medical treatment. The two have been in detention since December 2015, following a clash between IMN members and the Nigerian Army in Zaria. The Kaduna State Government is prosecuting them for alleged culpable homicide, disturbance of public peace, among others. He gave insights into their health challenges: "She, Malama Zeenah, has a full bullet lodged in her body (that needs to be removed). Also she is in need of a knee replacement surgery in addition to other problems.
"Then the second thing would be to clean my body of the toxins, which I was told are deposited in the bones and some in the flesh and this normally takes time to be done. "I also have a problem with my eye which the doctors that attended to us since after I had a second operation and my sight weakened, suggested that I should be taken to better facilities to have it tended to. "After all this we were all happy that we are in Delhi and we would be going to a suitable hospital to receive appropriate treatment. In addition the doctors that came to visit us when we were in Nigeria advised us to come to this hospital called Medanta. The cleric said he was uncomfortable with the tight security around him in the hospital, adding that the situation was more restrictive than Nigeria.
"I have been detained now for a collective total of about 13 years but I have never seen a detention like the one I am in now," he lamented, adding: "Even at the doors, they have placed armed police. Even between one room to the next, we are not allowed to move. He narrated his situation further: "I see here that even when I was in Kirikiri Prison; it wasn’t as constricting as in this situation. The Department of State Services (DSS) was yet to react as at the time of filing this report as the service placed THISDAY on hold, saying it would respond to its enquiries later.
IMN had accused the federal government of allegedly conniving with the Indian government to scuttle the treatment of el-Zakzaky wednesday. Spokesman of the IMN, Musa, stated this while confirming the authenticity of the audio message in which the IMN leader was heard complaining about their ill-treatment in India. According to the IMN spokesman, "The federal government has connived with the Indian Government to scuttle the treatment. They brought a new set of doctors instead of the ones the sheikh made prior arrangements with. "So the sheikh became suspicious and refused and protested. He said he would not allow strange doctors other than the ones he had arranged with to treat him.
"He asked them why they prevented him from seeing the doctors he had earlier made arrangements with. When asked if el-Zakzaky would return to Nigeria following the disagreement, Musa said: "Most likely, but we are trying to see how we can sort out the problem". In a separate statement issued by IMN in Abuja yesterday, Musa had also alleged that the security officials were conniving with foreign agents and the United States Government to deny el-Zakzaky treatment. "Reports reaching us from the hospital indicate that the security agents are colluding with foreign security agents believed to be working for the American Government," he stated. The sect called on the international community to intervene in order to allow them access to treatment. Amid the controversy, an Indian Muslim Shia group, Anjuman-e-Haideri, has offered to pay the medical bills of el-Zakzaky.
The group’s General Secretary, Mr. Bahadur Naqvi, told the BBC that his group had written to the Medanta Hospital, offering to pay the bills. "We have his medical report and it will take at least six months to treat, but doctors are saying it may take one to two years because of lead poisons in his blood," Naqvi said. 500,000 (£414,000) based on the report given by the hospital. Naqvi did not say if the hospital in Gurgaon had accepted the offer. Anjuman-e-Haideri is not the only group offering the medical bills. Spokesman of IMN, Musa told THISDAY wednesday that the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) organised the medical trip to India. He later confirmed wednesday that the controversy over el-akzaky’s doctors and other issues he raised in the audio recording that went viral had been resolved "for now".
Asked whether el-Zakzaky’s doctors are staff of the Medanta Hospital, he said he was not in a position to confirm whether they work in the hospital. "I don’t know of that, but they were among the ones that came here in April and examine him and recommended that Medanta Hospital. "The sheikh (el-Zakzaky) was complaining that he was denied access to them. But it has been resolved now. All the issues have been resolved for now," Musa said. The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, who also doubles as spokesman of Governor Nasir el-Rufai, did not respond to several telephone calls and text messages sent to his phone.
Christian leaders have also accused the president of favoring his Sunni Muslim coreligionists in appointments, funding, and other policy areas. Christians are used to divisions, since there isn’t a dominant denomination in the country.bit.ly This is especially important, since the influence of Muslim fundamentalists is growing in the country, with the most prominent example being the Boko Haram militants active in northeast Nigeria. Many observers blame this influence on funding from Saudi Arabia, which uses its vast oil money to promote its strict Wahhabi version of Islam around the world. In fact, the present crisis with the IMN is seen by many as another proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, albeit less devastating than the civil war in Yemen, where the two Muslim powers are backing different sides.
Onaiyekan is well aware that the present crisis in the Middle East is being fueled by intra-Muslim conflict: Iraq’s once-powerful Sunni minority vs. Shia majority; Syria’s Sunni majority battling a regime controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s Alawites (itself a minority sect within Shia Islam). Sunni-Shia clashes also break out in other areas of the Gulf, Pakistan, Indonesia, and anywhere else significant populations to the two main branches of Islam coexist. The fingers of Saudi Arabia and Iran are often suspected in these events, with varying degrees of plausibility. What is common to most of these conflicts is that the local Christian community is often caught in the middle, or even targeted by both sides. Church leaders don’t want that happening in Nigeria and defending the country’s Muslim minorities is an important show of solidarity. "Nobody is safe," Onaiyekan told Vatican Radio. Crux is dedicated to smart, wired and independent reporting on the Vatican and worldwide Catholic Church. That kind of reporting doesn’t come cheap, and we need your support. You can help Crux by giving a small amount monthly, or with a onetime gift. Please remember, Crux is a for-profit organization, so contributions are not tax-deductible.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, have again riled at the Federal Government over the continued detainment of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Malama Zeenat Ibrahim. Also, the group worshipping centre in Zaria, Hussainiyya Baqiyatullah, as well as property of the IMN members were demolished during the confrontation. Last year, the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an order for the immediate release of the couple along with compensation, provision of a residence as well as a police protection, but the government has ignored the court order. The government also turned deaf ears to the call by Amnesty International for the release of the cleric. In a statement signed by the group’s media secretary, Abdulmumin Giwa, and sent to SaharaReporters, the group has called for the immediate release of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife from illegal detention. The statement noted that El-Zakzaky who lost an eye during the attack against his family might lose the second eye if it is not urgently treated.
Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat, are set to travel to India for medical treatment by 6pm on Monday. The duo had arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Monday morning in readiness for the trip. The Chairman, Free El-Zakzaky Campaign Committee of IMN, Abdulrahman Abubakar, confirmed this development to Vanguard. "The Sheikh and his wife arrived Abuja this (Monday) morning. They would be departing for India around 6pm this evening," he said. Asked if IMN complied with the fresh conditions by Kaduna State Government on El-Zakzaky’s medical trip to India, Abubakar replied: "Is Governor El-rufai the court? Is he the one detaining the Sheikh and his wife?
Speaking in an interview on Wednesday in Kaduna, Musa also revealed that El Zakzaky's medical trip to India was arranged by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC). El Zakzaky had complained in the audio re that he was denied access to his doctors and that security around him was tighter than when he was in Nigeria. Asked whether El Zakzaky's doctors were staff of the Mandeta Hospital, Musa said he was not in a position to confirm whether they work in the hospital. He however said the doctors were among the team that came to examine the Islamic leader in April and recommended Mandeta Hospital, New Delhi, India. The Sheikh (El Zakzaky) was complaining that he was denied access to them. But it has been resolved now. IHRC (Islamic Human Rights Commission)" I don't know who will foot the bill, but some Indian Muslim organisations have volunteered to do so". Sheikh El-Zakzaky and Mallimah Zeenah have been given access to their medical team. They are still restricted to the hospital premises, but there are negotiations going on to resolve this situation.
Renowned Islamic Scholar Shaikh Ahmad Gumi has called on Federal Government to release former Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Colonel Sambo Dasuki from prison. The Islamic Scholar also called for the release of Islamic Movement of Nigeria IMN Leader, Shaikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. Shaikh Gumi who made the plea while closing this year’s Tafsir lecture at Sultan Bello Mosque on Sunday said the government need to obey court orders to set the two persons free from detention. Shaikh Gumi also said there is no basis for their continued detention since they have been ordered by court to be set free. He said the Federal government should also dialogue with Shakih Zakzaky instead of keeping him in detention. "Here in Nigeria, I will like the government to look into the case of Colonel Sambo Dasuki and release him with immediate effect. They should also release the leader of shiites, Shaikh Ibrahim Zakzaky. " They are not holding him ( Zakzaky) because he is shiites or anything. They should release and negotiate with him. Government should understand that it’s not right to disobey court orders.
THE Federal Government on Monday allowed a 10-man delegation to accompany the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, to India on medical trip. The delegation is made up of four IMN (Shiites) leaders and six security operatives. The IMN also spoke on El-Zakzaky’s trip. An IMN member gave the names of its leader’s family members on the trip as Zainab and Hassan Bala. The name of the accompanying doctor was given simply as Rahamat. But the security operatives were not identified. They flew out of the country on Emirates Commercial airliner yesterday via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to India.
The IMN leader and his wife are to receive medical attention for undisclosed health challenge. A top source said: "The government decided to allow four leaders/ members of the Shiites to follow El-Zakzaky to demonstrate its commitment to a fair and transparent medical procedure. "The government did not want to leave any gap for misrepresentation of the medical treatment. All these delegates will be part of the process. "The government felt there was need to build confidence between the two sides. It was also learnt that the Federal Government "mitigated the legal course, especially the conditions attached to the trip" based on security reports and to show good faith.
The source added: "The conditions set by the court were acceptable to both parties and the Federal Government deliberately mitigated further legal hurdles at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to show good faith. "Security reports also indicated that there was no basis for dragging the legal issues on the conditions further. The IMN on Monday released the details of El-Zakzaky and his wife’s departure for India. It said the wife could only make it to the airport on a wheelchair. The IMN gave the details in a statement by the Chairman, Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee, Abdurrahman Abubakar Yola.
The statement said: "The leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife have at last just left Nigeria for India alongside some family members and security operatives. "This followed the granting of the couple’s application for leave to seek medical attention in New Delhi, India last week by Justice Darius Khobo of Kaduna State High Court. "In spite of the attempted efforts at frustrating this emergency medical journey by the Kaduna state government, which tried to unilaterally put conditions to the journey even though it lacked such powers, the journey has gone on without hitches. "As a result of all these physical and psychological stress, the Sheikh suffered series of mild strokes and is at the risk of further recurrences.
"At the same time, he lost one eye following the military attack and is at a severe risk of losing his sight completely in the other. He is now found to have more than twenty times the toxic levels of lead poison in his body! "Similarly, the wife has been under excruciating pains with shrapnel deeply lodged in her body for all these years of inhuman conditions in detention. She now is able to ambulate only with the use of a wheelchair, even to the airport. "They have been battling ailments that could not be treated in Nigeria, as posited by the foreign medical experts that earlier in the year assessed their health condition. Undoubtedly, both risk losing their lives had the medical journey been further delayed or denied.
