The Kaduna Court of Appeal today Thursday 28th March, 2019 threw out two appeals brought by the Kaduna state government against two landmark judgements given by two separate Kaduna High Courts that discharged and acquitted members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria for lack of merit.
In first of the two appeals, the Kaduna state government had appealed against the judgement of the state High court that in November 2017 discharged and acquitted 15 members of the Islamic Movement who were arrested a few days after the Zaria massacre in Kaduna for protesting the mass murder and arrest of Sheikh Zakzaky, and tried for sundry offences including unlawful assembly and causing bodily hurt to police and security officers.
The state high court however upheld the no case submission of the defence lawyers, and consequently discharged and acquitted them after almost two years of trial.
The second appeal was against the judgement that also discharged and acquitted about a hundred members of the Islamic Movement who were arrested during the Zaria massacre of December 2015 and tried for alleged offences including culpable homicide.
After almost a trial that lasted two and a half years, another high court last year also upheld the no case submission of the defence lawyers, and discharged and acquitted them all.
In a swift reaction to the reverses the government was facing in court, especially seeing how shaky their charges against the leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky became because of these discharges and acquittals, the Kaduna state government filed appeals to the two judgements and resorted to various ploys to prolong the trial and detention of the Sheikh and his wife.
With these dismissal of the appeals for lack of merit however, the state government is forced to the drawing board.
We would keep you posted on further developments as they emerge.
over his continued detention by the Federal government, for lacking merit.
While holding that Dasuki’s appeal constituted an abuse of court process, the apex court unanimously pronounced that his continuous detention was not at the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that put him on trial.