Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly known as Shiites on Friday demanded that their detained leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Malama, be moved from prison to hospital.



They made the call during a press conference in Abuja after reports that El-Zakzaky’s wife tested positive to COVID-19 in the prison.

The President of the Academic Forum of the IMN, Abdullahi Muhammad Musa and another member, Sheikh Muhammad Abbare, during the press conference also claimed that El-Zakzaky has been battling with glaucoma.

Their position was contained in the text of the press conference titled “Sheikh Zakzaky’s wife tests positive for COVID-19; we demand their immediate release.”

The document read, “Reliable information reaching us revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kaduna Prison and several tests conducted on Malama Zeenah Ibraheem returned positive.

“All the symptoms associated with the novel virus have made their appearance visible on her: fatigue, fever, a complete loss of the ability to smell. Even before this incident, for years now, both Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife were denied required routine medical procedures as well as treatments for acute medical conditions, as their state of health has always been degenerating.

“By the nature of this development, Malama Zeenah ought to have been hospitalised immediately, and her husband, Sheikh Zakzaky, quarantined. Today, however, seven days since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Kaduna Prison, Buhari has done nothing to address the issue, and this has violated guidelines for the prevention and control of the novel virus.”

They demanded that the couple be immediately moved out of the prison.

They also called for an end to their ongoing trial before a Kaduna High Court, asking that they be released unconditionally.

They claimed that the court had on February 24, 2020, adjudged the couple unfit to stand trial, hence Justice Gideon Kurada gave an order directing the officials of the Kaduna Prison to grant the Sheikh and his wife access to their doctors.
They added, “In contempt of a court order, the Buhari regime has ignored the Federal High Court (Abuja) judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole in December, 2016 that ordered the release of the couple.

“Sheikh Zakzaky is being affected by progressive glaucoma, with up to 55 bullet fragments laden with excessive lead and cadmium poisonings in his body.

“He has been suffering from sleep disorder, recurrent spiking hypertension, recurrent episodes of stroke; and just few months ago, his cardiac ischaemia and ventricular hypertrophy were found to deteriorate.

“He is even requiring cardiac catherisation, thereby making him far more unfit to stand trial, and there came COVID-19 to which he has been exposed.”