Lawyer and human rights advocate, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has commended members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) for holding a protest rally against the continued detention of their leader, Mr. Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife by the Department of State Security (DSS).
He also urged them to keep protesting until all illegal detainees in the country are released.
The IMN leader and his wife have remained in detention since 2015 despite court orders directing that they be freed.
IMN members, otherwise known as Shiites held a protest rally, which shut down Abuja on Thursday In a message of solidarity to the protesting Shiite community, Mr. Falana said the rally was justified under the constitution, which guarantees the fundamental rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
“Your action is legitimate because it is a protest against impunity arising from the executive lawlessness of the Federal Government. Your demand is in order because it is in line with the tenets of the rule of law. Please keep it up,” said Mr. Falana, who is also Mr. Zakzaky’s lawyer.
He stated that during the struggle to dislodge military dictatorship in the country, he never imagined that elected governments would disregard court orders.
