M-Belt Youths to EU: Prevail on Nigerian govt to release El-Zakzaky’s travel documents

The Middle-Belt Youth Assembly on Wednesday asked the European Union to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to release the travel documents of the supreme leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat. The Assembly, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Yunana Kambai, insisted that the Muslim cleric and his wife had suffered enough; adding that denying them access to necessary medical attention from their doctors abroad was tantamount to rubbing salt in their wounds. The group, therefore, asked the EU to intervene in the travails of the couple who are “suffering from many injuries and resultant multiple life-threatening health challenges”. The Assembly also said now that the couple have been acquitted of all charges filed against them by the Kaduna State government, the seizure of their international passports as a way of preventing them from traveling abroad was a violation of their basic human rights. The statement partly reads, “The Sheikh and his wife should be allowed to attend to their health, wherever they choose to go, without any iota of mischief and frustration. “The couple has suffered enough already: six of their children were extra judicially killed within two years, over a thousand of his followers were killed and buried in mass and unmarked graves, and hundreds of others were killed while peacefully protesting against their persecution and illegal detention. “If anything, the government should, for the good of the nation, maintain the fresh breath of air in the streets of Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and other cities considering the security crisis in the country. “It is therefore unwise of the government to add yet another. One thing is certain, if Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is not allowed to attend to his health, those streets will soon be littered with protests by his unrelenting, indefatigable followers. ‘So, we call on the European Union to help facilitate the release of their international passports, as we seriously fear the return of protests in Abuja and other major cities. “Protesting is a constitutional right, and we don’t blame the protestors for discharging one of their constitutional rights. But the protests by the IMN in the past had changed Abuja from the tranquil city it used to be to seemingly a battleground due to intolerance and crude tactics of the security agents. “We, therefore, reiterate our call on the EU too, as a matter of urgency, ask the Nigerian Government to release the passports of the couple so that they can attend to their health. An injustice to one is an injustice to all. “For peace to reign clergymen, well-meaning individuals and all people of conscience should also join in urging the government to allow the ailing Sheikh and his wife attend to their health, especially as they have demonstrated an inconceivable height of perseverance, restraint and abiding compliance with the Nigerian judicial system.” Vanguard News Nigeria