IGP, northern govs oppose El-Zakzaky’s travel for treatment
Fresh facts have emerged that the Federal Government may not grant the request of the Islamic Republic of Iran that the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, be released for medical treatment in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
A reliable government source told Saturday PUNCH that powerful forces within the government were not favourably disposed to the request.
The source also gave details of a high-level security meeting held in Katsina on Thursday by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and governors from 11 states in the North.
Although the meeting, on the surface, was concerned about the general security challenges facing the country, the source, who is a senior intelligence operative, told one of our correspondents that the Shi’ite situation dominated the discussion.
However, because of the sensitive nature of the subject, the details of the discussion were not made public.
Although the meeting was held behind closed doors, the source revealed that the governors and the IGP felt that releasing El-Zakzaky to Iran for medical treatment could cause a major security problem for Nigeria in the near future.
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“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.
However, Saturday PUNCH learnt that talks were ongoing between the Federal Government and Iran over the release of the Shiite leader while findings also showed that the IMN was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Recall that 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.
Montazeri, who also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of the crisis, said El-Zakzaky’s current medical condition had become a source of worry.
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 stakeholders at the security meeting believed that if allowed to go to Iran on medical grounds, the IMN leader could become very powerful and begin to foment trouble from overseas while causing security problems for Nigeria back home.
