Members of the House of Representatives during plenary on Wednesday urged the federal government to obey court orders and release Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
The lawmakers noted that if things are allowed to continue like this, the Shiite members may cause irreparable damage.
The IMN leader has been in detention since 2015, when Shi’ites clashed with a convoy of the chief of army staff in Kaduna state and all court orders calling for his release have been disobeyed.
READ: Shiites Deny Killing Security Operatives In National Assembly Protest
The minority leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu raised a motion calling on his colleagues to probe the matter and ensure adequate security measures are in place at the legislative chamber.
Other lawmakers were more of the opinion that “the root cause” of the protests be addressed rather than the security challenge, as the circumstance that led to the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgent group isn’t different from this.
“If the court has given an order for the release of the man, we should call on the government to release him. The discourse should not be on the invasion of the national assembly alone,” Onofiok Luke, from Akwa Ibom had said.
