The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has dragged the Inspector-General of Police and the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, to court over the refusal of the duo to release the corpses of its members killed during a protest in 2019.
The Shiites, according to a statement, filed a contempt suit against the duo at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
According to the statement signed by Abdullahi Musa on behalf of the Academic Forum of the IMN, the IGP and medical director had disobeyed a judgment delivered by the court on June 29, 2020, which ordered for the release of the corpses of free-Zakzaky protesters killed by the police at Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
The statement reads, “The public is aware that on Monday, 22nd July 2019, police officers attacked a Free-Zakzaky protest and opened fire on the protesters which led to the killing of 14 protesters, one unknown person, a deputy commissioner of police and a journalist with Channels TV.
“An act which was and continues to draw condemnation from all people of conscience, human right groups and civil society.”
The Shiites alleged that the police evacuated corpses of the slain protesters, deposited four at National Hospital and two others at Asokoro District Hospital.
However, they were able to take away six slain people.
They further claimed that the police arrested many protesters and detained them at SARS with neither medication nor feeding.
“While under custody, three protesters reportedly died, and again the corpses were moved to Asokoro District Hospital, making it five in total,” a part of the statement said.
According to them, there are four corpses at National Hospital Abuja and five at Asokoro District Hospital and all efforts to collect the corpses from the police proved quite abortive.
Musa wrote, ”They are hiding them to avoid being exposed as killers of the deputy commissioner of police and the journalist, upon whom the police put aside postmortem to fend themselves off giving away any forensic evidence in favour of the Islamic movement.
“We would like to inform the public that FORM 48 contempt of and disobedience to court order proceedings has been filed at Federal High Court Abuja against both the Inspector General of Police and Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital Abuja.
“The court also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to pay the sum of N15,000,000 to the families of the slain protesters. Moreover, the court ordered the Chief Medical Director, National Hospital Abuja, to release the corpses of the protesters deposited at the Hospital by the police.
“Our prayer on the contempt of court proceedings is that the Federal High Court should declare both the Inspector-General of Police and CMD, National Hospital Abuja, guilty of contempt of court and sentence both of them to prison,” he concluded.
