Shiites Leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky Is Blind – Femi Falana

The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shiites, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is said to have gone partially blind.

According to El-Zakzaky’s lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, the Shiites leader lost one of his eyes due to his inability to access his doctors for treatment.

Falana, on Tuesday, told the High Court in Kaduna that El-Zakzaky’s wife was still having in her body bullets from the clash between the military and Shiite members in Zaria in December 2015.

The SAN said he had applied to the court to grant Mr Zakzaky bail because “he has already lost an eye and his wife needs urgent medical attention” as the government have allegedly not given them proper medical care.

He said the “third and fourth defendants (Yahya Yakubu and Sunusi Abdulqadir)” in the El-Zakzaky trial have had charges against them withdrawn by the Kaduna state solicitor general who is representing the government.

“We have no objection to that so the application was granted,” he said. ”We then applied for urgent medical attention for both of them (Zakzaky and his wife), on the grounds that since both of them were shot by the Army on December 14, 2015, they have not been given adequate medical attention.

“We, therefore, pray the court allows them to remain alive so as to stand trial since they are ready for the trial,” Mr Falana added.

“In the case of malam (Zakzaky), he has lost an eye in detention because and is in the process of losing the second eye because he has developed glaucoma. In the case of the wife, the bullets on her have not been ‘totally’ extracted after three years and she suffers excruciating pains,” Mr Falana said.

On whether his client and his wife will remain in the custody of the DSS, Mr Falana said:‎ “both the government doctors and their private doctors have to sit to agree on the kind of medical treatment required to treat them. We made it clear to them (government) that they (duo) have to be alive to stand trial,” he said.

Meanwhile at the trail today, the Kaduna High Court ordered the state government to allow the Shiites leader access to his doctors.

The directive was issued by Justice Gideon Kurada of the said court.