A Kaduna state high court has asked the Kaduna correctional service to release Zeenat, wife of Ibrahim El–Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), for COVID-19 treatment.
In the ruling delivered on Monday, the court asked that Zeenat be moved to a government isolation facility to begin treatment immediately.
Last Thursday, Mohammed, son of the IMN leader, said his mother, Zeenat, tested positive for COVID-19 at the Kaduna correctional centre, but that the authorities refused to release her for treatment.
El-Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since 2015 after his followers clashed with soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna.
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The IMN leader is standing trial for alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace.
Femi Falana, counsel to El-Zakzaky, had presented a medical report to back up his case for the release of Zeenat.
The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) asked the court to allow Zeenat seek medical treatment outside the correctional centre according to measures put in place by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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Gideon Kurada, the presiding judge, granted the request after Chris Umar, the prosecuting counsel, concurred with Falana’s submission.
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