The Department
of State Services, DSS, has spent at least N164.5 m feeding the leader of the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria , Sheikh Ibrahim El -Zakzaky.
Recall that
El – Zakzaky was arrested by the DSS on December 12 , 2015 and remained in
custody until December 2019 when Justice Gideon Kurada of a Kaduna State High
Court ordered the agency to transfer the IMN leader and his wife , Zeenat, to
the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna.
The Minister
of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed, had revealed in November 2018 that
the Federal Government spent a total of N3.5m to feed the Shiite leader monthly
.
Due to El –
Zakzaky ’ s detention since December 12 , 2015 , the cost of feeding the Shiite
leader amounts to a total of N 164. 5 m in 47 months .
In a
separate report , Kaduna State Governor , Nasir el- Rufai, clarified that the
sum was not only for feeding the Shiite leader, but on security as well .
“ The N 3 .
5 m monthly feeding on El -Zakzaky is not only about his food, but other
expenses on security men attached to him . The security men are permanently
stationed with him, they surround where he is kept ,” he said.
However,
human rights lawyer , Mr Femi Falana ( SAN), on Sunday that the cost of feeding
El -Zakzaky may continue to rise since he is in prison and is therefore still
being taken care of with tax payers’ money .
Falana
explained that El -Zakzaky was granted bail many times but the orders were
ignored by the Federal Government until the Kaduna State Government decided to
charge the IMN leader to court nearly three years after his arrest .
The activist
said , “ El -Zakzaky is now in prison but he is still being taken care of by
the Federal Government with tax payers’ money . ”
The Islamic
cleric was arrested after soldiers clamped down on his supporters , killing at
least 347 of them . The army accused them of blocking a public road being used
then by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt . Gen . Tukur Buratai .
He was detained
without trial for several months , causing his lawyer , Falana , to file a suit
before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
In December
2016 , Justice Gabriel Kolawole ordered that El -Zakzaky , and his wife ,
Zeenat, be released from detention into an accommodation that must be provided
for them within 45 days .
The Federal
Government , however , ignored the judgment .
He remained
in custody for another 17 months until he was arraigned by the Kaduna State
Government in April 2018 .
Since his
arrest , El – Zakzaky ’ s followers have been protesting his detention in
several parts of the country some of which have led to bloodshed.
Newsflash247
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