The police in Kaduna State have released 67 vehicles to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ite, an Islamic sect under the leadership of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
The release was in line with a judgement of High Court sitting in Kaduna, directing the police to release the vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles to the plaintiffs, according to Mark Abu, the Counsel for the plaintiffs.
In 2021, Mohammed-Auwal Yakubu and 77 others, members of the movement served as the plaintiffs and filed a writ of summons against the Commissioner of Police and Attorney-General of Kaduna State over the seized vehicles.
The released vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles were domiciled in police custody eight years ago, seized in the aftermath of the 2015 security agents/Shiites deadly face-off that left over 300 members of the group killed and several others injured including Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the movement’s spiritual leader.
In November 2022, Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court ruled in favour of the movement members, with the court order being served on the commissioner of police in the state who is the first defendant in the case. She subsequently ordered the release of the vehicles.
Abu, however, noted that the number of the vehicles filed in the court was more than the vehicles the police released to them. “We will discuss with our clients the options available and the one we will explore,’’ he noted.
