El-Zakzaky: Wait for court ruling, Presidency urges rampaging Shiites’ members

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Tuesday cleared air on the federal government’s refusal to release the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzakky from detention after court’s ruling.

Adesina has therefore urged the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) to wait for ruling on the appeal, saying that government has right to appeal the bail.

He said the matter had since been taken before a court in Kaduna State and the bail hearing would come up next Monday.

Giving this indication during an interview monitored on Channels Television’s programme “Sunrise Daily’, Adesina hinted that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government refused to obey Justice Gabriel Kolawole’s order on the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzakky, because it appealed the ruling.

Speaking further, the President’s spokesman said the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), may have had his reasons carrying out such legal action since the government had the right to appeal the bail.

He said, “I know that the immediate past AGF in whose purview it was to make pronouncements on that, address the issue. If bail is granted and another case subsists and there is an immediate filing of appeal, you have to wait till it is dispensed with.

“So, that is a legal matter which is outside my purview but as a layman, an unlearned man as lawyers would call us, we know that until all cases are dispensed with, you don’t say that it has been concluded.”

On the clashes between the Sects member and policemen which led to casualties on both sides, Adesina commended the police for showing some retrain, saying that death tolls would have been higher if the police did not do that.

“I tell you despite what happened yesterday, if the police had responded with greater force, you know we would not be talking about what we are talking now.

“A deputy commissioner of police was killed. Yes, very sad, that is one life just like any other life. He did not deserve to die in service to the country but if the police had responded in similar fashion, you would have been talking of rivers of blood in Abuja now.

“I still believe there was some restraint yesterday (Tuesday) despite what happened and personally I still commend the police for showing that restraint,” Adesina said.

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