This is certainly not the kind of ruling President Muhammadu Buhari bargained for, considering the level of intimidation his government has meted on the judiciary lately. You would think that members of the bar, bench and courts will from now start dishing out rulings and judgements in favour of the government, but the reality is the opposite and may likely remains so for a long time to come.
In the first test of the turgidity of the Nigerian judiciary after it's senior members were recently arrested and hauled into courts on allegations of corruption, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the release of the leader of the Shi’a Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. El-Zakzaky was arrested by the military on December 14, 2015, after a clash between the movement and officers of the Nigerian army.
The army killed at least 347 members of the group. Mr. El-Zakzaky approached the court to demand his release, months after he was arrested without being charged to Court.He asked the Court to declare that his arrest and continued detention violated his fundamental rights.
His lawyer, Femi Falana, said the court should declare that the continued detention of his client without charging him, was unlawful. Delivering the judgement, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, rejected the submission of the counsel to the State Security Service, Tijjani Gazali, that Mr. El-Zakzaky was kept in protective custody of the SSS.
He said the decision to hold the Islamic cleric and his wife for their safety was not based on law. “I have not been shown any incident report or any complaint lodged by residents around the neighbourhood that the applicant has become a nuisance to his neighbourhood,” said the judge.
He said the decision of the government to hold the applicant for so long amounted to great danger. Citing the death of former leader of the Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, the judge said; “If the applicant dies in custody which I do not pray for, it could result in many needless deaths”.
Mr. Kolawole said the government should within 45 days release the applicant and his family to the police, who shall within 24 hours take them, guarded by escort, to a safe place. He added that the SSS will pay a fine of N25 million each to Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife, making N50 millio
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