Court orders Kaduna Govt. to treat Zeenat, El-Zakzaky’s wife for COVID-19

Justice Gideon Kurada of Kaduna State High Court has ordered the state authorities to immediately treat Mrs Zeenat, wife of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El–Zakzaky, for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Kurada gave the order at the resumption of secret trial of the IMN leader and his wife on Monday in Kaduna.

Both the prosecution and the defense counsel, Chris Umar and Femi Falana, SAN, respectively confirmed to reporters after the trial that Zeenat had tested positive for the COVID-19.

Falana said his team had presented the results of the test before the court and applied that Zeenat, the second defendant in the trial who tested positive to the virus more than one week now be availed with proper medical facility to get treatment.

Falana said the medical facility at the Kaduna Correctional Centre did not have the needed facilities to treat the virus.

He said: “Today at the resume trial of the client case, the prosecution brought four witnesses including a medical doctor who testified before the court.

“But we also applied to the court, we drew the attention of the court on behalf of our clients to the fact that the wife of our client Zeenat had tested positive to the dangerous Covid-19 pandemic and she is being treated in the medical center of the correctional facility.

“We applied to the court that the authorities should take her to government hospital that has the facility to treat the virus.”

Meanwhile, Umar, also the Kaduna State Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, said the prosecution did not object to the application.

He said the prosecution had presented four witnesses bringing the number of witnesses who testified before the court to eight.

Umar said that more witnesses would testify on January 26 being the second adjourned date for the trial.

According to him, one of the witnesses who had been promoted to the rank of a major-General and now heading a division is also expected to testify before the court.

The secret trial of the IMN leader and his wife Zeenat began on November 18, 2020 at the High Court.

The Kaduna State Government charged El-Zakzaky and Zeenat with eight counts bordering on alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of the public peace among other charges.

On September 29 the IMN leader and his wife pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.

The state had so far presented eight witnesses including two Army officers a retired director of state security service and a medical doctor who testified in secret before Justice Kurada.

The prosecution said it would review the case as the trial continued to ensure that relevant evidence were presented on the role of defendants during the operation that lasted between December 12 and 14, 2015.

The trial is to continue on January 26.