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FG, Indian Hospital Wanted to kill El-Zakzaky, Shiites Claim
Following El-Zakzaky’s return to the country, the IMN has blamed the Federal Government and the Medenta Hospital in India for the Shiite leader’s aborted treatment, alleging that they planned to kill him.
The IMN spokesperson, Musa, in a statement on Friday, said the interference of the Federal Government raised suspicions that it was planning to kill the Sheikh in India using international connections.
Musa said, “He (El-Zakzaky) insisted that if he would not be allowed to see the doctors who brought him to India, he would rather return to Nigeria and seek another destination for his treatment.
“This became clear because of the government’s stance insisting on other doctors other than the ones that he was in India to meet. They finally decided to bring him back for refusing to succumb to be treated by their chosen doctors.”
The Shiite group also condemned the DSS for not permitting the cleric to speak to journalists at the airport, demanding the secret police to disclose where the Shiite leader was being kept.
Musa stated that El-Zakzaky and his wife were not allowed to rest after enduring 11 hours flight to New Delhi from Abuja, noting that they were “forcibly treated” by the hospital.
He said, “The hospital compromised its independence and medical ethics, treating without obtaining the consent of the patients. The health workers were furthermore interested in taking selfies with the Sheikh and posting on social media, thereby violating their privacy.
“When the Sheikh noticed some physical assault, in addition to the background circumstances, he lost complete confidence in the hospital and demanded to see his own doctors for a substitute arrangement.”
The IMN spokesman also alleged that the Federal Government presented El-Zakzaky to the Indian government as a “dangerous suspect” with an unknown ailment and demanded stringent security around him.
Speaking further, Musa said El-Zakzaky never refused treatment while in India, alleging that the Federal Government had an ulterior motive it was nursing using its connections in India when it violated the court order and interfered with the procedures for the Sheikh’s treatment.
He said, “We vehemently condemn the way the security agents whisked him away upon arrival without allowing the multitude of journalists who had been waiting for him for hours to have a chat with him.
“We urge the security agency holding him hostage to declare to the public where they are keeping him in the country.
“It is a well-known fact that the Nigerian authorities had tried all their antics to see that the Sheikh wasn’t given medical leave.
“Distrustful of the Nigerian government’s offer of a jet to take him to the destination, having survived its attempts to poison and kill him while in detention, our leader declined the offer and chose to pay for his trip through the Emirates Airline.
“Their ordeal started right here in Nigeria when they were scheduled to board the plane to Dubai. After a two hours’ drive from Kaduna to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja, they were not given enough time to rest before boarding the plane.
“They endured an eight-hour flight to Dubai and another three-hour flight to New Delhi. Under normal circumstances, as patients suffering life-threatening ailments, they shouldn’t have been subjected to such exhaustion.
“Nonetheless, our leader and his wife endured the journey, hoping that they would get good treatment when they reached New Delhi.”
The IMN spokesperson said the group would continue with its struggle to ensure that the Shiite leader got the medical treatment he deserved as ordered by the Kaduna High Court.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
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Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
