Anti-Zakzaky protesters storm high court

Protesters under the aegis of Coalition on Good Governance and Change Initiative (CGGCI) stormed the federal high court in Abuja on Monday.

The demonstrators expressed dissatisfaction with the order to free Ibraheem Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).

On Friday, Gabriel Kolawole, a judge of the court, ordered that he should be released within 45 days.

Zakzaky and some of his followers were arrested in December, following a clash involving the military.

Okpokwu Ogenyi, president of CGGCI, said the order given by the court to free Zakzaky was “legalising terrorism”.

“Judiciary has dealt a fresh blow to the future of Nigeria by legalising terrorism while leaving the rest of us at risk of losing our lives,” he said.

“In the space of one week, the judiciary has ordered dangerous fanatics and demagogues to be returned to the streets to resume brainwashing, radicalizing and militarising vulnerable youths in the population.

“This could have only been in keeping with fulfilling obligations entered into for less than honourable considerations even as we cannot rule out a judiciary that is taking its pound of flesh from an executive arm that has exposed the sleaze on its soiled bench.

“If the entire judiciary has activated its vendetta against the security agencies that they see as the executive arm, the precedence set by Justice Gabriel Kolawole took things to the ridiculous by awarding N50 million of tax payers’ money to finance IMN’s radicalisation programme while also asking that the police further deploy its personnel to protect a man whose sect members.

“This judge also failed to realise the weight of his utterance that  has basically ordered the government to build a new headquarters for a proscribed group – we do hope he will keep himself on the bench for when other terror groups approach to demand for the government to build them headquarters.”