Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat, arrived in the country from India Friday afternoon.
The couple returned to Nigeria via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja aboard an Ethiopian airline, just four days after they travelled to India for treatment.
They were thereafter taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Meanwhile, IMN in a statement issued Friday by the president of its media forum, Ibrahim Musa, stated that the interference of the government raised such suspicion; hence El-Zakzaky’s decision to reject treatment in the hospital he was taken to.
The statement read in part, “The interference of the government raised suspicion that it was planning to kill the Sheikh in India using its international connections.
“He insisted that if he would not be allowed to see the doctors that brought him to India he would rather come back to Nigeria and seek another destination for his treatment.
“This became clear because of the government’s stance insisting on other doctors than the ones that he was in India to meet. They finally decided to bring him back for refusing to succumb to be treated by their chosen doctors.”
Musa further said aside from treating El-Zakzaky without his consent, the hospital management violated his privacies; a situation that made him lose confidence in the hospital and demanded to see his own doctors for a substitute arrangement.
According to him, health workers were furthermore interested in taking selfies with the Sheikh and posting on social media.
“More so, the hospital compromised its independence and medical ethics, treating without obtaining consent of the patients. The health workers were furthermore interested in taking selfies with the Sheikh and posting on social media, thereby violating their privacies.
“When the Sheikh noticed some physical assault in addition to the background circumstances, he lost complete confidence in the hospital and demanded to see his own doctors for a substitute arrangement.
“It is well within every patient’s right to decide whether or not to be treated and to also decide who attends to his health. It is called giving of consent, which every sane autonomous person with capacity is entitled to.”
