Court orders transfer of Zakzaky, wife from DSS custody to Kaduna correctional centre

The embattled leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, will now be transformed from the custody of Department of State Security (DSS) to a correctional facility in Kaduna State.

This followed the order of a Kaduna State High Court presided over by Justice Gideon Kudafa on Thursday.

According to the judge, the decision to have El-Zakzaky and his wife remanded in a correctional facility was to ensure their lawyers and doctors have easy access to them.

The judge, after the transfer order, adjourned the matter till February 6, for commencement of trial.

Nigerian government is prosecuting the IMN leader over alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of the public peace, among other charges.

The former judge presiding over the case, Justice Kudafa, had since March 26, 2019, when he was appointed as a member of the Election Petition Tribunal in Yobe State adjourned the case indefinitely.

Meanwhile, when the matter resumed on Thursday, El-Zakzaky and his wife were not in court, but their lawyer, Femi Falana, said their absence was due to their deteriorated health conditions.

Recall that Falana had on July 18, 2019, owing to the absence of the trial judge, filed a fresh application at another court of equal jurisdiction and prayed it to grant his clients leave to seek medical attention abroad.

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The prayer was granted on August 5, 2019, by Justice Darius Khobo. He ordered that IMN leader and his wife, accompanied by officials of the Kaduna State government, should travel to India for medical treatment and return to Nigeria afterwards to face their trial.

El-Zakzaky and wife returned to Nigeria soon after arriving India. Reports had claimed that they were displeased with the hospital facility where they were taken to.

Earlier court orders for their release were not honoured by President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

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