MEMBERS of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, have demanded for an investigation by the government against the arraignment of some of their members in Kaduna.
The Islamic group in a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Malam Ibrahim Musa, said, among others: “We deem it necessary and expedient to once again address the issue of our members that are presently detained in the Kaduna Prison and awaiting trial. We decided to address the issue a second time based on the illegalities that have attended their detention and the unconstitutional and procedural breaches that have attended the cognisance by the Chief Magistrate 1, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Awwal Umar.
“We believe that this is illegal, unconscionable and unconstitutional for the Chief Magistrate Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna, to advise the police to go and add the names of four of our members illegally thrown into the prison into the existing FIR when their names were never there in the first place. We, therefore, demand the unconditional release of Nasiru Umar, Auwal Abubakar, Ibrahim Abdulhamid and Zaharadden Abdulaziz.
“We demand that the Chief Judge of Kaduna State and the Kaduna Judicial Service Commission must investigate how and when the Chief Magistrate got a letter demanding that he should not deliver ruling on a bail application moved before him on January 14, 2016 only to adjourn ruling on same to March 29, 2016 on very flimsy and illegal excuses and directives.”
“Our members must be given their due process rights. Our members are being remanded in prison custody without any charges being framed against them. It is unconstitutional and illegal to detain suspects while the police are going about fishing for evidence that is not there.
“We demand that our members should be released unconditionally if the police have no evidence that they have infringed on the law. We insist that our members are the victims in the unfolding events and those that are supposed to face trial are the ones pretending to be victims.”
