Court Adjourns El Zakzaky’s Trial till Feb. 24

Court Adjourns El Zakzaky’s Trial till Feb. 24

By John Shiklam in Kaduna

A Kaduna state High Court has fixed February 24 and 25, for the continuation of trial of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and his wife.

The presiding judge, Justice Gideon Kurada, adjourned the case on Thursday at the resumed hearing of the case.

He said the adjournment was to allow the defendants appear in court to take their plea.

El Zakzaky and his wife are standing trial on allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace, among other charges.

Counsel to the IMN leader, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), said the judge had granted the defendants’ application to allow them access to their personal physicians to enable them appear in court and take their plea at the next adjournment date.

Falana also said the court had granted the prosecution counsel’s application to amend the charges to reflect that the two other accused persons were still at large.

He said the defendants would be in court on the next adjourned date to take their pleas, since their personal physicians had been allowed access to them.

The High Court had on December 5, 2019, ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to transfer the IMN leader and his wife to the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna, to allow his lawyers easy access to him.

The duo has been in the custody at the Kaduna Prisons following the court order.

Also speaking in an interview, the prosecution counsel, Dari Bayero, said the prosecution team was ready with its witnesses for the trial at the next adjourned date.

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