Group tackles El-Zakzaky over claims DSS maltreated him in detention

The Save Nigeria Movement (SNM) has criticised the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, over claims of maltreatment by the Department of State Services (DSS) whilst in detention.

This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the group’s convener, Solomon Semaka after the cleric had claimed that the DSS diverted N4 million monthly meant for his upkeep while in detention.

He said that Sheikh El-Zakzaky should desist from “an attempt to smear the image of the DSS and curry public sympathy for himself.”

Semaka said, “The claim by Sheikh El-Zakzaky that he was responsible for his feeding from the day he went into detention to the day he left in addition to purchasing a generator set and fuelling it runs contrary to the claim he made earlier that he was maltreated by the DSS.

“This kind of wild claim is akin to saying he provided logistics for the operations of the entire DSS establishment.

“The self-styled leader of IMN had made a lot of noise using his cronies alleging maltreatment of himself and the wife to the point that his safety was no longer guaranteed.

“At some point, he had asked the international community to hold the Federal Government responsible should any misfortune befall him.

Read also: El-Zakzaky denies claim of being fed with N3.5m monthly by Nigerian govt

“As one who claims to lead a religious group which is assumed to be a pious body, it is saddening that such spurious allegations would come out from the supposed mentor of many.

“Claiming to have been maltreated all along in detention and coming out to say he was allowed to spend detention in luxury even while in detention from a government he desperately seeks to blackmail only amounts to speaking from two sides of his mouth.

“This singular claim thus cast aspersions on any other claim that this self-styled cleric made about carrying bullets in his body and that of his wife.

“Nigerians of goodwill must not allow persons with links with violent organisations to blackmail our security architecture in the guise of religion or criticism.”

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