By Goodluck Ikiebe.
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, detained leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and his wife, Zeenah, are to regain their freedom after four years in detention.
This development follows a ruling by the Kaduna State High Court on Wednesday that discharged and acquitted them of the charges brought against them by the state government.
El-Zakzaky and his wife have been standing trial since 2017 after the Kaduna State government filed an eight-count charge of alleged culpable homicide, disruption of public peace, and unlawful assembly, among others, against them.
There was heavy security around the Kaduna State High Court on Ibrahim Taiwo road, as the trial of El-Zakzaky and his wife was ongoing.
El-Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since December 2015, following a bloody clash between his followers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The Lead counsel to Zakzaky, Femi Falana, SAN, had in the last sitting on July 1st, 2021, prayed the court to rule in favour of his clients and dismiss the charges levelled against them, saying there was no criminal case established against them so far by the Kaduna State Government.
The prosecuting counsel, Dari Bayero, had presented 15 witnesses, who testified against the defendants.
Among the witnesses were two army officers, a retired director of State Security Service, police officers and a medical doctor.
