There are indications that the Federal Government will refuse the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, from travelling to the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other country for medical treatment.
This was part of the resolution agreed upon at a high-level security meeting held in Katsina on Thursday of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and governors from 11 states in the North.
A source present at the meeting confided in The Punch that, while the meeting was concerned about the general security challenges facing the country, the Shiite situation dominated the discussion.
“It was concluded at that meeting that the idea of granting Iran’s request that El-Zakzaky should be sent to them for treatment would never happen. And even if he was released, allowing him to travel out of the country would never happen because that would be like giving him a passport to go and rearm,” the source said.
The Prosecutor-General (Attorney-General) of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammed Montazeri, had penultimate Friday written a letter to the Federal Government of Nigeria asking the government to allow El-Zakzaky to come to Iran for medical treatment.
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The letter read in part, “I, as the prosecutor general of the Islamic Republic of Iran, urge the Nigerian judicial authorities (to take steps) in line with their judicial independence and support for a captive citizen, and provide the ground for his release and transfer him to the Islamic Republic of Iran for treatment.”
But security stakeholders are worried that doing so can also undermine the government’s efforts to clip the wings of the Shiites who have become violent over the Federal Government’s continued detention of El-Zakzaky.
“He would amass so much influence before ever returning; he could even seek asylum there and start fomenting trouble here. These are based on the intelligence that the Department of State Services gathered,” the source stated.
The source added, “They (Shiites) have been proscribed. So, there is a possibility for them to resort to violence like Boko Haram. Naturally, it is expected that the northern governors, as chief security officers of their states, have to rub minds as to what measure can be put in place to nip the issue in the bud, so that the situation at hand does not degenerate to the level of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“(Governors of) Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bornu, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Adamawa were there (at the meeting). Not all the northern states are flashpoints of insecurity. A chunk of those Shiites are from Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina.”
He added, “The SGF’s representative was there. It was the IGP that actually chaired the meeting; Governors Nasir el-Rufai, Aminu Tambuwal and Abdullahi Ganduje were there.
“One of the governors, who is believed to be very outspoken about the IMN issue, advised that everything should be done to ensure that the Shiite movement does not degenerate into another Boko Haram. He said that they had curtailed their activities in Kaduna State and that they (Shiites) said that they didn’t recognise the Constitution, the President and the governor of the state, but were only loyal to the Quran, they should go to Iran to so that they can practise that 100 per cent.”