Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria trooped out to welcome Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky in Abuja on Wednesday.
The cleric was returning from a 130-day medical trip from Iran, where he and his wife Malama Zeenah received much-needed medical treatment for injuries they sustained during the December 2015 Zaria massacre.
After a long battle with the Nigerian authorities under President Muhammadu Buhari to recover their travel documents, Sheikh Zakzaky arrived in Iran together with his wife for medical treatment on 14 October 2023.
People filled the Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja at 7 am on Wednesday waiting for the arrival of the religious leader, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport around 1:30 pm. From the airport where he was received by some family members and supporters, the motorcade of the cleric consisting of three black SUVs and a bus, proceeded to the national stadium.
Other people lined up at the Abuja City gate holding banners and waving flags welcoming the cleric who lost six biological sons and over 1000 followers during the 3-day military crackdown on his residence, schools and worship centres in Zaria, Kaduna state in 2015.
Wednesday’s event was the first public gathering where the Islamic scholar physically addressed a mammoth crowd of his supporters in the last two and half years after his discharge and acquittal by a high court in Kaduna.
In his speech, Sheikh Zakzaky apologized for his flight delay (that supposed to touch down in Abuja by 7am), relived his experiences during the medical trip, and thanked the supporters for their steadfastness and perseverance during and after the Zaria massacre.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the sheikh and his wife touched down in Tehran on October 14 last year to be greeted by throngs of well-wishers.
Shortly after arriving in the capital, Sheikh Zakzaky met with the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before moving on to the holy city of Mashhad where he will be treated.
Sheikh Zakzaky was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Tehran. He met and received accolades from the clerical establishments of the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad. He also attended a Palestine international awakening conference that drew Muslim clerics from different countries and sects, among which was Nigeria’s Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
The couple’s visit comes after a protracted tussle with the Nigerian authorities under Buhari to recover travel documents that were seized from them when they were arrested following the Zaria massacre in 2015.
Since the pair were released from illegal detention in July 2021, they have been prevented from flying abroad by Buhari’s regime who refused to return their passports.
The couple were taking legal action seeking the restoration of their passports but faced stalling tactics from the government. IHRC wrote to the UN in January 2022 urging the organisation to intervene.
In October last year, the new administration of President Bola Tinubu restored their travel documents which enabled them to travel for medical treatment.
Sheikh Zakzaky has lead poisoning after sustaining four gunshot injuries during the 2015 massacre of Islamic Movement of Nigeria members and supporters by the country’s armed forces. The toxicity is believed to be a direct result of the shrapnel from bullets left in his body. The sheikh has also lost sight in one eye and the use of one arm and has suffered several strokes.
His wife, Malama Zeenah, is also seriously ill with high blood pressure and can barely walk because of a bullet trapped near her spine.
The 2015 Zaria massacre claimed the lives of over 1000 supporters of the Islamic Movement. Despite the enormity of the casualties, not a single official has been charged or brought to trial over the killings.
The massacre is the subject of a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court, the IHRC said.
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