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Tag: Zakzaky

  • Murder: Zakzaky taken to court in Kaduna amid tight security

    LEADER of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shi’ites, Sheikh Ibrahim El Zakzaky was yesterday taken before a Kaduna High Court amid tight security.

    El Zakzaky, who was in the court with his wife as early as 8:30a.m, was allegedly  smuggled into Kaduna the previous night from where he was being kept.

    He was being charged for unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide punishable with death.

    Speaking to reporters, El Zakzaky’s counsel, Maxwell Kyom, said the case could not continue because two of the defendants were not in court.

    He said an oral application was moved for bail for the cleric and his wife, but the judge, Justice Gideon Kurada, asked him to put his application in writing.

    Reporters and sympathisers of the Shiites leader trooped to the court premises but were barred from entering as the major roads leading to the court were condoned off.

    From the Yakubu Gowon Way by Bida road, two Hilux belonging to Kaduna State security outfit, ‘Operation Yaki’, blocked the road and pedestrians who are not court’s workers were turned away.

    A leader of the Shiites sect in Kaduna, Mallam Abdulhameed Bello, said El Zakzaky was forcefully brought to Kaduna a night before the hearing.

    According to him, members of the movement were disappointed for his re-arraignment because in a substantive suit before an Abuja High Court, the court ruled that he should be released unconditionally.

    Bello added that the cleric was losing his sight as well as suffering from diabetes and mild stroke.

    “We call on the Federal and Kaduna State governments to as a matter of urgency obey the judgment of the Abuja court and release the Sheikh for peace to reign.

    “We as a movement will continue to use all peaceful means to put pressure on the government to see reason and allow Sheikh El Zakzaky to go home and attend to his deteriorating health,” he said.

    The case was adjourned to June 21, by Justice Kurada based on application by the prosecutor for them to properly file their statement of claim.

     

     

     

  • ‘Zakzaky’s detention is illegal’

    ‘Zakzaky’s detention is illegal’

    A rights group, the Access to Justice (A2Justice), has decried the continued detention of Muslim cleric Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky despite a Federal High Court order that he should be released unconditionally.

    In a statement by its Executive Director, Joseph Otteh, the group urged the Federal Government to reverse the growing atmosphere of impunity and lawlessness.

    “Any further delay in releasing El Zakzaky will represent a direct and serious affront to the rule of law, a hardening of dictatorship behaviour in a democratic government and a dangerous abuse of power,” the group said.

    El Zakzaki and members of a sect, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), had a clash with soldiers last December, resulting in the killing of over 348 members who blocked the highway being used by the Chief of Army Staff.

    A2Justice said while the Kaduna State government charged over 259 IMN members with the murder of one soldier, no military officer was charged for the killing of the group’s members.

    “Lately, Amnesty International published reports showing how the Nigerian military government is engaging in summary, arbitrary and extrajudicial executions of members of the Independent  Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).

    “The Buhari government is steadily emboldening a climate of impunity in governance, and   strengthening   the   hands   of   those   who   unleash   brutal   force   against   protesters.

    “However, impunity will not ‘change’ Nigeria for the better. Impunity breeds and feeds resentment and division, political and military conflict, radicalism and extremism and represents a revolving door for infinite cycles of violence.

    “Impunity will change Nigeria for the worse! We urge the Buhari administration to walk back this culture of impunity and lawlessness that is hardening in its security institutions, bring those who have whimsically killed innocent Nigerians to justice, and show more respect for the rights of the people who have voted it into power,” A2Justice said.

  • Shiites as dangerous as Boko Haram –Zakzaky’s brother

    Shiites as dangerous as Boko Haram –Zakzaky’s brother

    Sheikh Muhammad Sani Yakoob, the Chairman of Izalatul Bid’ia wa Ikamatus sunna, Zaria Branch, is also the older brother of Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky, the detained Shi’ite leader. In this interview with select journalists, including Abdulgafar Alabelewe, the Islamic cleric justifies the ban on the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), saying that, the Zakzaky led Shiite is as dangerous as the Boko Haram sect.

    LAST week, a Hausa language newspaper reported that you advocated for the continuous detention of your younger brother, Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzaky, who has been held for close to a year now by the government, following the clash between soldiers and Shiite sect members. Why did you make that statement?

    No. I neither called for his continuous detention nor his release. What I said was that he is being detained by the authorities over inciting his members to block the Chief of Army Staff’s convoy last December. One thing led to another and people died in the process. I said, since it is the authorities that are holding him, it is them that can arraign him before a court which will prosecute or release him. It is not me or any other person that can do so. I didn’t say that he should be released because I am not the one that he offended but the government. So, I have no locus standi to call for his release or otherwise. This is what I told the newspaper. If what you said was what they quoted me as saying, then they have misunderstood what I said.

    As his brother, have you attempted to meet him since he was detained because his lawyers have tried in vain?

    No. I didn’t attempt to do so, even before he was detained, we never visited each other, even when he is sick or otherwise, because of difference in ideology. I am Ahlus sunna and he is a Shiite.

    Recently, Kaduna State government decided to ban the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), thereby proscribing the activities of the Shiites. The ban was criticised in some quarters because it infringes on the sect’s freedom of worship. As a Muslim leader, do you think that the ban was justified?

    What government did is not only obligatory but it is a Jihad of some sorts. The ban will bring about peace in the state. Before the ban, during their Ashura celebrations, most residents of Zaria dared not come out of their homes for at least three days. They used to take over the entire main roads of the town throughout the period. This time around, nothing of that sort happened. Their stock in trade was to infringe on people’s rights when they are practising their brand of religion. Islam frowns at people inconveniencing others in the practise of their own religion. What they were doing is not Islam. In my opinion, government did the right thing by banning their organisation because it endangered peace. The organization was always causing trouble. If government had not taken this step and the Shiittes starts receiving arms from Iran, they would have become another Boko Haram. They have not reached that stage before government acted. If they have not been proscribed, they would have formed their own government. Because they had their own soldiers, state governors, local government chairmen and even police. They had no regard for any constituted authority. So, if they had started getting arms from Iran, they would have risen against the state because they disregard every organ of the state.

    If what you are saying is true, why didn’t past governments take measures to curb their activities until now?

    This administration is more security conscious than past governments. Don’t you see how they have defeated Boko Haram? The government promised two main things; security of lives and property and the economy. Their war against insecurity includes containing Shiite members; banning them is one of the things that will bring peace in the country. They have spent close to 30 years harassing people and blocking highways during their activities. There was virtually no one that they have not denied the right of way. They have blocked a governor before and an army commander, even before COAS Yusuf Tukur Buratai. They have spent 30 years doing this, just because they have now been banned; people are saying that their rights have been violated. The way I see it, the ban has helped the people of Kaduna State and the course of peace.

    In spite of the ban, the Shiites still came out during the Ashura celebration to commemorate the murder of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) but they were attacked by the people. Do you think the attack was justified?

    It’s not good for people to take laws into their hands. Doing so was a mistake. The people should have just reported to the authorities, assuming that they were not aware. The authorities should have arrested and prosecuted them but not citizens of the state burning their houses and killing Shiite members. This was a mistake and it is wrong Islamically.

    The attack on Shiites during the Ashura celebration did not happen in Zaria. They were limited to Kaduna, Funtua and Kano

    What happened? Did the ulama preach to the youths against it?

    Alhamdulilahi, we have control over our youths in Zaria unlike other areas. They don’t just wake up and take laws into their hands. If something comes up, they usually seek our advice. That was why no one was attacked in Zaria.

    Critics point to the fact that the punishment that is being meted on the Shiites is not commensurate with the alleged offence of blocking roads. Don’t you think that attacking them was an over kill?

    The allegation of killing them does not even arise. They blocked roads that belong to government and government officials took steps to give people free passage, after all entreaties have failed. Government has the right to take all steps necessary and when it does, there is no basis to say that they are being persecuted. But if the citizens take it upon themselves to force them out of the road, that is where the problem lies.

    But do the Shiites have a history of attacking or killing people?

    How many times!? They have been attacking neigbouring villages and killing people. Even last year and the year before the last, they hacked down people in Yakassai village. They did not only kill people in Sabirni, but scattered the whole town because people fled from there. They virtually took over the town.

    When all these killings were happening, didn’t you alert the authorities as community leaders?

    We told constituted authorities about their actions and the consequences that they pose to peace and security but their response has always been, “go and protect yourselves. We have been disallowed to confront them.” This was what they used to tell us. The people took the Shiites on, on several occasions, especially in the villages. When Abacha came to power, he intervened and took over the fight and decimated them. After Abacha’s death, they returned to their old ways of harassing people on the road, injuring and killing them, puncturing their tyres and smashing their cars’ windscreens. Days before the incident with Gen. Buratai, they had beaten up someone from Giwa and smashed his car. He reported to the police but they refused to honour the invitation of the police. The police have all their records, if you go, they will give them to you. At Gyellesu where their leader lives, they have killed countless number of people and nothing was done. Most residents of Gyellesu have fled. Are all these not human rights violations?

    But the Shiites have been saying that the coming of Zakzaky to Gyellesu has brought peace to the area,  so much that Christians and other non-indigenes used to run to the place whenever there is ethno-religious crisis…

    This is just a made up story. Go and ask the people of Gyellesu whether Shiites brought peace or crisis to the area. They are in a better position to answer this question.

    What is the lasting solution to all these intra-religious crises?

    I am calling on Muslims to strive to understand their religion. The limited knowledge of religion is the cause of all these crises. The government should also help in the propagation of genuine Islamic knowledge based on Sunnah so that people will not fall victims of a very dangerous ideology like Shiism. Secondly, people should not take the law into their hands even when provoked. They should report all acts of violations and provocations to security agents.

    But some people say that the crux of the matter is that Sunni Muslims don’t   regard Shiites as Muslims. And that so long as this difference persists, there is bound to be problems. Do you agree?

    The Shiites regard the prophet’s (SAW) companions as unbelievers. The say that Abubakar is an unbeliever, and that Aisha; the prophet’s wife, was adulterous. According to them, when they seized Saudi Arabia, they will exhume her corpse and meet the appropriate punishment on it. The Qur’an has already laid the issue to rest and whoever alleged that Aisha is adulterous is an unbeliever because he does not believe in the Qur’an. In fact, the Shiites do not believe in this Qur’an, they are waiting for their own Qur’an that their Mahdi will bring for them. They are just reading this Qur’an because there is no alternative. This line of thought is unbelief! Now that they regard the prophet’s companions as unbelievers, since it is not true, it means the term is true on them. Apart from prophets or messengers of Allah, there is no group of people that are as pious as the companions of the Prophet (SAW).

  • Shi’ites and the Free Zakzaky trek to Abuja

    Shi’ites and the Free Zakzaky trek to Abuja

    Correspondent Abdulgafar Alabelewe reflects on the Shi’ites Movement’s planned trek to Abuja to press for the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky. He also chronicles the lamentation and plea of his son, Mohammed Ibraheem in a recent open letter.

    For those who know members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as the Shi’ites Movement, it is easier to conclude that trekking in form of  agitation for one right or the other is their trademark, which people of other faiths and sects in the Northern part of the country have had to contend with in the last few decades.

    Members of the movement, usually clad in black dress are known for trekking in their thousands, including women and children from major Northern Nigeria cities to Zaria, at least once or twice a year. One is usually in commemoration of its annual Quds Day protest where they condemn Israeli’s occupation of Palestine.

    Concerns have however been raised over the proposed trek by members of the sect to Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja to further press home their demand for the release their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky, who has been in security custody for more than eight months.

    The Nation learnt that, members of the Islamic Movement has since the arrest of Sheikh Zakzaky staged several protests in Kaduna city to ask for his unconditional release. Their demand however appeared to have fallen on deaf ears hence the resolve to take it to another dimension.

    The Shi’ites’ latest strategy may also not be unconnected with Zakzaky son’s latest outburst and emotional open letter over his father’s condition in security custody.

    30-year old Mohammed Ibraheem El-Zakzaky had said, “In an unusual twist, the custodians/captors/detainers of my parents, the DSS claimed that my father, is being kept in “protective custody” “because he is a vulnerable individual” and according to their lawyer, it is the DSS’s duty to provide protection to vulnerable citizens!

    According to him, “Adding salt to injury, they further  claimed to have spent five million naira on his health alone. It is unbearably hard enough that I’ve had to watch helplessly as they killed all those innocent people, including my three remaining brothers.

    “But this claim was the worst affront to my sense of self, more painfully insulting than all before it. Ever since the statement was made, I have made several attempts to type a response. Each time I begin to type, my fingers shake from excess of wrath, anger, despair and the all too fresh realisation of the truly unbelievable depths of insincerity, hypocrisy and cruelty.

    “I always think and question the humanity of the cabal that masterminded the Zaria massacre. How can it be rationally explained that we share the same taxonomy as this brutal breed of beasts wearing the uniform of the Nigerian army, who executed this inhuman massacre?

    “This is a most grievous insult, the gravity of which is unfathomable to say the least. Although, my parents are not being held in a prison cell, they are certainly not living in a comfortable state, nor are they ‘Safe.’ In the eight months since the ‘Nigerian Army’ killed and secretly buried over a thousand people, including my three brothers, my aunt and a lot of the people I hold most dear, while also shooting my mother 7 times and depriving my father of an eye, as well as crippling his arm and leg. The DSS, which claims to be “protecting him” has also denied him access to his doctors, legal counsel, and has only allowed us to visit only when it suited them.

    “In the past eight months, I have driven to Abuja several times, only to be turned back. Yet these people have the rudeness to post my picture in the media to give credence to the idea that all is well, insulting us in the most cowardly of ways. I am thirty years old, I earned my first five million Naira when I was still a university student, yet my own father the one who brought me into this world, after being so injured, physically, emotionally and worst of all deprived of even the most basic of human rights, is being charitably expended upon with five million naira (gratitude for the generosity of the masters of murderous beasts).

    “As his sight continues to fail day by day, the DSS continues to refuse, under the guise of bureaucratic excuses, our request that a known qualified doctor be allowed to attend to him. And then there is the visitation rights. In eight months, I have only been allowed to visit four times, but we have been stood up in Abuja for twice as many times. Then there is the fact that even though my father is currently incarcerated, it is he who pays for his expenses down to the fuel for the generator in the place where he is being held, not to mention the extortionist behaviour of some of the agents in charge of handling my parents.

    “In our fourth and final visit, which was yesterday, they brought in a professional camera man sporting a nice SLR (Single-lens reflex Camera or; Fancy Cameras in Short) to rudely take more of these propagandist pictures designed to deceive the people about the true nature of what is going on, I’m sure you’ll be seeing them in the papers soon enough.

    “Then there is his health, specifically the health of his last remaining eye, which is already half blind. The attending single doctor, whose name and qualification I do not know, nor has the DSS informed me, has already arbitrarily and single-handedly proscribed one of his eyes as lost for good, without recourse to a second opinion.

    “Granted, in my father’s own words, he does “appreciate” the doctor’s efforts and the courtesy of certain members of the DSS; I for one am not grateful, I cannot be. I deserve answers; we all do. If the DSS that is a Government organisation of fundamental importance, is proudly insulting me by claiming to be spending five million naira on my father; Ibraheem Zakzaky has a son, who is alive and willing to spend multiple of that amount (and I can afford it). But I cannot, because the opportunity to do such … is blocked by the ‘Dutifully Protective Custodians.’ DPC. (Death Prospecting Cooperation)…

    “I want to call all those who believe in the inalienable right of all human beings to fairness, justice and dignity, to help by joining me in a redoubled effort. We must protest this seemingly never ending series of outrages; we must make our voices heard. We must act before it is too late. We must demonstrate wherever we are able. I for one will walk alone on my two feet from my father’s house in Zaria to Abuja if I have to, I will sit in front of any office for as long as it takes, I will stop eating and drinking for as long as it takes.

    “As God is my witness, there is no time. My father needs access to doctors now! Right Now! As God is my witness, I swear that having survived the unthinkable, my father is currently being wearied down into a blind man. He is being slowly crippled, destroyed. Compliments of the DSS and co. (But) enough is enough. Post the dammed pictures; make all the lies; but do not insult us. Let us send doctors, let us save my father’s eye,” he said.

    THE TREK

    Although, a section of IMN members, particularly women had last week embarked on a similar foot journey from Zaria to Abuja, the security authorities have vowed to prevent the acclaimed proposed mass trek of the Shi’ites to the FCT.

    The Shi’ites women who branched Kaduna on their journey to Abuja last week told newsmen that their mission was to seek Zakzaky’s release, so that he can get proper medical attention.

    It was later gathered that the women took their protest to the National Human Rights Commission’s office in Abuja, but never bothered to locate Zakzaky.

    The protesters who were chanting, ‘free Sheikh Zakzaky’ condemned what they described as ‘continuous detention’ of their leader in the custody of Directorate of Security Service (DSS) since December 2015.

    Speaking on behalf of the women, Fauziya Saidu, said the protest will continue until their leader is released unconditionally to avail him the opportunity to seek proper medical treatment. She alleged that military personnel along Zaria-Kaduna road were busy taking their photographs on their way to Kaduna the purpose of which they did not know.

    According to her, “most of us here are widows and orphans. We are only demanding that our leader be released for medical treatment. We will continue this match to Abuja and we will not leave until our Sheikh, his wife and others are released.”

    She said “If they are really protecting our leader as their lawyers have claimed, then we would want to ask them what form of threat is the visit of family members and doctors, considering the impending and dangerous situation threatening to turn him blind…?”

    THE SECURITY

    The acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris has however assured that the police will take actions to ensure that there is no breach of security by the members of the sect as they plan the mass trek.

    The IGP who spoke through a Deputy Inspector General of police (DIG), Habila Joshack, while receiving anti-Shi’ite protesters in Abuja recently, said the laws of the county respects the religious rights of every citizen, but that such rights should not be abused.

    The IGP equally vowed to apply appropriate sanctions on any protester who fails to abide by the laws of Nigeria.

    An anti-Shi’ite trek protesters under the auspices of Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organization for Peace (NIFROP) had earlier told the IGP to immediately act to forestall ‘whatever mayhem’ IMN members were planning.

    Another Non-Governmental Organisation, Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism ((CATE) at a press conference in Abuja last week condemned the plan, saying it poses security risk.

    The group’s National Coordinator, Mr. Gabriel Onoja urged security operatives to immediately prepare to manage the situation in order to avoid what happened previously between the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the sect.

    IMN react

    The President of Media Forum, Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Musa Ibrahim in turn has accused security operatives of planning to attack IMN youth trekking from Zaria to Abuja to demand the release of the group’s leader.

    In a statement he issued last week, the movement’s spokesperson alleged that the security operatives were planning to attack the youths, adding that some weapons would be claimed to have been found on them.

  • Falana to DSS: release Zakzaky within 24 hours

    Falana to DSS: release Zakzaky within 24 hours

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has demanded the release of leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, Hajia Zeenat Ibraheem from unlawful detention.

    In an April 5 letter to the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS), Falana said his clients had been denied access to their family and doctors since their arrest.

    Falana said last December 12, thousands of armed soldiers allegedly unleashed violence on IMN members in Zaria, Kaduna State, on the orders of the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, who claimed the unarmed civilians wanted to assassinate him.

    The lawyer said although his clients were not on the scene of the attack, the troops invaded their residence at Wali Street, Zaria, last December 14.

    “The troops set the building ablaze and killed three of our clients’ children in their presence and thereby subjected them to untold mental agony.

    “Thereafter, the armed soldiers shot our clients several times. As a result of the brutal attack Sheik Zakzaky lost his left eye. Doctors are battling to save the right one.

    “While in custody, both of them have gone through many surgical operations to extract bullets from their bodies,” Falana wrote.

    To compound the physical pain and mental anguish his clients were subject to, Falana said the police and the DSS held them incommunicado for over three months.

    He recalled that during a similar attack in 2014 allegedly by a detachment of the Army, three of Zakzaky’s children were also killed without any lawful justification.

    Falana said the report of the Commission of Enquiry set up by the government was yet to be released, while the military personnel, who allegedly killed his clients’ children and other unarmed civilians, have not been brought to justice.

    Some of the victims who survived the deadly attacks, Falana said, have been charged with culpable homicide and sundry offences by the Kaduna State Government.

    “Notwithstanding that  such criminal charges  are pending at the Kaduna High Court, the Kaduna State Government  has set up a judicial Commission of Enquiry to investigate the same subject matter.

    “Even though our clients have not been told that they breached any law, they have been denied access to their lawyers, personal physicians and family members for over three months.

    “Our clients were only permitted to meet with us last Friday after several requests made by us had been turned without any legal basis.

    “In the light of the foregoing, our clients and members of the IMN have resolved not to participate in the proceedings of the said Judicial Commission of Enquiry in any manner whatsoever and howsoever.

    “Finally, we hereby demand for the immediate and unconditional release of our clients from illegal detention within 24 hours of the receipt of this letter,” Falana.

  • Zakzaky’s absence stalls proceedings

    The proceedings of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into the clash between the Army and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly called the Shi’ites, were yesterday stalled again.

    This followed the inability of the counsel to the group to have access to its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, for briefing.

    The commission, at its inaugural sitting on Monday, adjourned till yesterday for the continuation of proceedings because of the absence of IMN’s lawyer, who wrote the commission that he would only appear and present a memorandum after being briefed by his client and leader of the movement.

    When counsel to the movement, Mr. Maxwel Kyon, appeared before the commission yesterday, he pleaded for two weeks adjournment to enable him get briefing from his client and file their memorandum.

    Commission Chairman Justice Muhammadu Lawal Garba asked counsel to the Army, Mr. Abba Audu, whether he was opposed to the two weeks’ plea by IMN’s lawyer.

    He said he did not oppose the plea, adding that it was in the interest of justice.

    Counsel to the commission Yusuf Ali (SAN), represented by Usman Yunus Ustaz (SAN), said he did not object to the plea.

    He, however, noted that the two weeks’ oral application was too long to be granted because the panel had six weeks to conclude its sitting and submit report.

    The chairman did not grant IMN’s lawyer’s plea.

    He adjourned till next Monday, “to enable you get access to your client. Whether you get access to him or not, you have to report to the commission so we can continue with the proceedings.”

    IMN faulted the 13-man composition of the panel, alleging that some members were against it.

  • We won’t appear before commission, insist Shi’ites

    •’Release Zakzaky’

    The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise called the Shi’ite, at the weekend, insisted that it would not appear before a Commission of Enquiry set up by the Kaduna State government to investigate last month’s clash between it and soldiers.

    It said it would only appear if its leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky, was released.

    The group, which embarked on a peaceful demonstration in Kaduna at the weekend, after the 40th day prayer for the repose of the souls of the victims, however, said it would never take up arms against the government and would not be violent in seeking redress for its members, who were allegedly killed in Zaria.

    Addressing reporters, spokesman Mukhtar Abdullahi Sherief said the movement would use legal means to ensure justice was done.

    He said the Shiite did not have confidence in the commission because some of the members were enemies of the group and condemned it.

    Sherief added: “One of the conditions for us to appear before the commission is for the government to release our leader, Zakzakky and others unconditionally.

    “Seven hundred and thirty of our members are yet to be accounted for and bodies of the victims are still with the Army. Let them release the bodies to us for burial according to Islamic rites.”

    The prayer was held at the Rigasa Central Mosque, and the protest started from Katsina Road roundabout to Leventis roundabout.

  • Shi’ites give conditions to appear before commission

    •’Zakzaky must first be released’

    The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, otherwise called the Shi’ite group, yesterday demanded the unconditionally release of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.

    It said it was after this was done that it would appear before the judicial panel set up by the Kaduna State government to investigate the clash between it and the Army last month.

    Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai last Saturday unveiled the names of the 14 members of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry to look into the clash.

    Shi’ite said its leader was the custodian of its documents and had to be released to direct it in preparing its memorandum and assembling witnesses to appear before the panel.

    It gave the condition in a statement by the President, Media Forum of the movement, Ibrahim Musa, in Kaduna.