BY
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
The legal team of Sheikh Ibrahim
El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, has filed a motion
asking the High Court in Kaduna to quash all charges against him.
El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat,
have been detained by the Nigerian Government since 2015 after hundreds of his
followers were killed by the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.
In the motion filed by rights
lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), on behalf of El-Zakzaky, deposed to by Muhammad
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, son of the detained IMN leader, and served on the Director
of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice of Kaduna, he asked the court to
dismiss the case after the state’s failure to disclose the offences preferred
against his client.
The motion reads, "An order of
this honourable court quashing count one of the charge in its entirety for not
disclosing an offence known to law contrary to Sections 36 (8) and (12) of the
1999 constitution as amended, or in the alternative, an order of this
honourable court quashing count one of the charge in its entirety for being an
abuse of court process and/ or devoid of proof of evidence, evincing a prima
facie case or a disclosure of the offences and/ or for failure to link the
defendants to the offences purportedly charged from the statements of the
witnesses and/ or the statements of the defendants as well as the documents
attached to the purported charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count two of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and devoid of proof of evidence or a disclosure of the offences
and/ or for failure to link the defendants to the offences purportedly charged
from the statements of the witnesses (and/ or the statements of the defendants)
as well as the documents attached to the charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count three of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and devoid of proof of evidence or a disclosure of the offences
and/or for failure to link the defendants to the offences purportedly charged
from the statements of the witnesses and/ or the statements of the defendants
as well as the documents attached to the purported charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count four of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and devoid of proof of evidence or a disclosure of the offence
charged and/or for failure to link the defendants to the offences purportedly
charged from the statements of the witnesses and/or the statements of the
defendants as well as the documents attached to the purported charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count five of the charge in its entirety being an abuse of court
process and devoid of proof of evidence or a disclosure of the offences charged
and/or for failure to link the defendants to the offence(s) purportedly charged
from the statements of the witnesses and the statements and/ or the statements
of the defendants as well as the documents attached to the charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count six of the charge in its entirety for not disclosing an
offence known to law contrary to sections 36 (8) and (12) of the 1999
constitution as amended, or in the alternative, an order of this honourable
court quashing count six of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and/ or devoid of proof of evidence, evincing a prima facie case
or a disclosure of the offences and/or for failure to link the defendants to
the offences purportedly charged from the statements of the witnesses and/ or
the statements of the defendants as well as the documents attached to the
purported charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count seven of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and devoid of proof of evidence or a disclosure of the offences
and/or for failure to link the defendants to the offences purportedly charged
from the statements of the witnesses and/ or the statements of the defendants
as well as the documents attached to the purported charge.
"An order of this honourable
court quashing count eight of the charge in its entirety for being an abuse of
court process and devoid of proof of evidence disclosing a prima facie case or
a disclosure of the offences and/ or for failure to link the defendants to the
offences purportedly charged from the statements of the witnesses and/or the
statements of the defendants as well as the documents attached to the purported
charge."
Falana also asked the court to free
his client, who has suffered numerous health challenges as a result of his
incarceration.
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