• INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events
Menu
  • INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events

DSS Seize El-Zakzaky, Wife International Passports

  • Date of Occurrence
    October 18, 2021
  • State/Country
    Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
  • Details
  • Comments 0
  • prev
  • next
  • Bookmark
  • Share
  • Report
  • Leave a review
  • prev
  • next
Image
Description

Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat, have filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja, challenging the seizure of their international passports by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

In their separate suits filed by the Femi Falana Chambers on October 14, they told the court that their passports were last seen in the possession of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which has officially denied that it was in their possession.

On attempting to renew their passports through the Immigration Service, it was revealed that the passports have been flagged by the DSS. They add that all requests to remove the restriction have been ignored by the secret agency.

The duo asked the court to compel the DSS and the AGF to release their passports and lift the red flag restrictions.

They are also asking the court to declare that the seizure of their passports since May 2019, as illegal and unconstitutional because it violates their fundamental rights to freedom of movement.

They asked the court to mandate the defendants to pay the sum of N2 billion each, as general and exemplary damages, for the violation of their rights to freedom of movement.

The reliefs sought include by the plaintiffs include:

“A declaration that the seizure of the Applicants Passport No A50578740 since May 2019 is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates his fundamental right to freedom of movement guaranteed by Section 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Article 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act (CAP A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“A declaration that the Red Flag Travelling Restrictions placed on the Applicants Passport and land borders by the Respondents without a court order is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates his right to fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act (CAP A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“A declaration that the refusal of the Respondents to allow the Applicant to travel abroad for medical treatment constitutes a threat to his life guaranteed by Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act (CAP A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“An order of this Honourable Court mandating the Respondents to release the Applicant’s international passport number A50578740 to him in order to enable him to access prompt and adequate medical attention as recommended by his physicians.

“An order of this Honourable Court mandating the Respondents to lift the Red Flag Restrictions (and all or every form of restriction howsoever) placed on the International Passport number A50578740 of the Applicant by agents of the Respondents forthwith.

“An order of this Honourable Court mandating the Respondents to pay over to the applicant the sum of Two Billion Naira (N2,000,000,000.00) as general and exemplary damages for the violation of the Applicant’s rights to freedom of movement, fair hearing and property.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents from further violating the Applicants fundamental rights in any manner whatsoever and howsoever without lawful justification.”

El-Zakzaky and his wife added that the seizure of their passports, and an absence of a court order, amounts to a threat to their lives since they have been denied the opportunity to seek urgent medical attention outside the country as recommended by their doctors.

Actions Taken

One year after the acquittal by the Kaduna high court Nigerian Shi'ites Accuse Buhari Government Of Placing Travel Bans On Leader, El-Zakzaky, Wife To Eliminate Them. - August 1, 2022.

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shi'ites movement has described the continued delay of the release of the passport of its leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat as an attempt to summarily eliminate the couple one year after their acquittal by a Kaduna high court.

The movement lamented the harrowing experience being faced by the couple owing to their deteriorating health conditions following their arrest and incarceration in December 2015 by the Muhammadu Buhari regime.

IMN disclosed this in a statement by Dr. Dauda Nalado on behalf of the Academic Forum of the movement to commemorate one year of their acquittal by the Kaduna high court.

The statement added that the 2015 Zaria massacre by the Nigerian army was an "all-out-war" aimed to eliminate the scholar and stop the Islamic movement from practising their religion.

The statement read, "We would like to inform the public that in spite of the favourable judgment of Kaduna State High Court delivered by Justice Gideon Kurada on the 28th of July, 2021, the Buhari regime has refused to return or reissue the travel documents of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife.

"The historic judgement frees the couple without a single condition attached. But reliable information reaching us reveals that tyrant Buhari has placed a travel ban on the freed, notwithstanding their critical health challenges. It is pertinent to let the public know that the freedom of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife is still on the periphery, cruelly delayed and unlawfully denied.

"The public are fully aware of the 2015 Zaria massacre executed from 12th to 14th December. It was an 'all-out-war' to eliminate the Sheikh and dislodge the Islamic movement under his distinguished tutelage.

"The Nigerian Army under Buhari’s direct command invaded the Husainiyyah along Sokoto Road, the Dambo-film-village-farmyard-cum-martyrs' graveyard and Sheikh El-Zakzaky's Gyallesu residence, all in Zaria. They killed his followers in excess of a thousand, and set the house ablaze.

"Against all odds, the prime target, his wife and several other family members survived the arson and all that unprecedentedly brutal attack. Yet, no sooner had four soldiers 'discovered; the whereabouts of the survivors in a laundry room than they started to rain bullets on them, instantly killing three of his sons, leaving the Sheikh and his wife 'waiting to die' from the lethal gunshot wounds, but they are still alive with multiple health complications that could not be treated here in Nigeria, therefore very much in need of urgent medical attention abroad.

"Justice was delayed and prolonged for more than 5 years, but at last the court discharged and acquitted the Sheikh and his wife. Following the court triumph, the couple's immediate preoccupation has been to cater for their medical needs abroad but their passports have been seized and denied for a year now."

The sect, therefore, demanded the immediate release of the passports and other travelling documents of the scholar and his wife to enable them seek medical treatment abroad.

Details
  • Date of Occurrence
    2021-10-18
  • State/Country
    Federal Capital Territory
  • Perpetrator
    Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation
  • Source
    https://www.channelstv.com/2021/10/18/el-zakzaky-wife-sue-fg-over-passport-seizure-demand-n4bn/
Location

Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Get Directions
Region
  • North Central
Rights & Freedom Violated
  • Freedom of Association & Assembly
Gender of Victim(s)
  • Female
  • Male
Mode of Attacks
  • Trials, Prosecution and Persecutions
  • Comments are closed.
  • You May Also Be Interested In

    Police Teargas Protesters Demanding Sack of CJN

    • Federal Capital Territory
    Nov29
    • Freedom of Association & Assembly

    Niger State Government Bans June 12 Protest

    • Niger
    Jun12
    • Freedom of Association & Assembly

    Court Declares Shiites’ Movement Terrorist Group

    • Federal Capital Territory
    Jul27
    • Anti Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism
    • +1

    This site is supported by:

    FGHR-150x50
    OSF-150x50
    fh
    ford-foundation-logo-150x50

    Closing Civic Spaces is a publicly-available database on closing spaces for civic engagement and civil society in Nigeria & West Africa. Data  is compiled from public sources.

    • +234-814-500-0067
    • Lagos, Nigeria

    Stay informed

    Get incidents as they happen

    Support our campaign to protect the civil society space

    Donate Now
    Donate to Defend the Civil Society Space

    © 2019 Closing Civic Spaces by Spaces for Change. Spaces for Change is a member of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.

    Images, texts, & other forms of content are copyright of their respective owners.

    Cart

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • WhatsApp
    • Telegram
    • Pinterest
    • LinkedIn
    • Tumblr
    • VKontakte
    • Mail
    • Copy link