Fresh charges filed by govt authorities against Nigeria’s shiite leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky

New charges have been filed by government authorities against the acquitted leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem Yakubu El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeehah,

The charges come barely two days after a Kaduna High Court discharged and acquitted the shiite leader. According to the prosecution the new charges would border on terrorism and treasonable felony.

Dari Bayero, the Kaduna state director of public prosecution, said they were not in agreement with the reasoning and conclusion of the High Court. While affirming that the Kaduna State Government would go further with the Zakzaky’s case, Dari stressed that the court judgment is not in consonance with the facts on the ground.

The prosecution added that some of the actions of the Shiite leader upon which he is being charged with fresh allegations predated 2015.

El-Zakzaky and his wife, who was also arrested in 2015, had been facing a range of charges filed by the state government in 2018, including aiding and abetting homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace.

His continued detention had led to street protests in the Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, sparking violent clashes with security forces that have killed dozens of lives.

The Nigerian government officially outlawed the shiite group in 2019.