Bullets Fired On El-Zakzaky in 2015 Still In His Body
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that the pellets of bullets fired on the incarcerated leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria better known as Shi’ites, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat, are still in their bodies three years after the faceoff with men of the Nigerian police.
El-Zakzaky and his wife sustained gunshot wounds during the clash members of his religious organization had with men of the Nigerian Army in December 2015. El-Zakzaky and Zeenat have been in detention since then, a decision that has forced Shi’ites to embark on violent protests.
At the hearing of their bail application in Kaduna state yesterday July 29th, Falana told journalists that El-Zakzaky and his wife were in dire need of medical attention as they had not been given adequate medical care since their detention in 2015. He said the pellets of bullets have been in the bodies of the detainees since the December 2015 incident in Zaria, Kaduna.
“In fact, he was not in court because his health had gone very bad. Even during last appearance, he could not climb the staircase to the courtroom. That is why we applied that he be excused from appearance in court, and it was granted. The pellets in their bodies had resulted to lead poison and they need to be urgently removed by highly professional medical personnel,” Falana said
The Humanrights lawyer expressed confidence that the court would grant his clients bail so they can travel for urgent medical care.
However counsel to the Kaduna state government, Dari Bayero, disagreed with the condition for the bail application. According to Bayero, there are many medical facilities in Nigeria that can offer premium medical care to El-Zakzaky and his wife. The lawyer said his team had examined the eight medical reports by Nigerian and foreign doctors and argued that there are medical facilities in the country to handle the medical needs of the Shi’ites leader and his wife.
