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Nigeria has filed new terrorism charges against a Shia Muslim cleric, a prosecution lawyer said on Sunday, days after being acquitted of the murder after nearly six years in detention.
A court in the northern city of Kaduna on Wednesday acquitted Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife over a lack of evidence in a case involving the killing of a soldier during deadly clashes between their supporters and their supporters. troops in December 2015.
Zakzaky has repeatedly called for an Iranian-style Islamic revolution in Nigeria – where the Muslim population is predominantly Sunni – putting him at odds with secular authorities.
Dari Bayero, prosecution attorney for the Kaduna state government, said terrorism charges were laid against Zakzaky in another court two days before his release.
“On July 26, we filed new charges against Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky in the Federal High Court here in Kaduna,” Bayero told AFP.
He said the charges involved “terrorism and treasonable offenses” and attempts were made to serve the cleric with court documents while in detention, but he refused to accept them.
Bayero said the court is now on recess and the prosecution should wait until September before trying again.
Zakzaky, his wife Zeenah Ibrahim and 200 supporters of their Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were arrested during the 2015 crackdown in the northern city of Zaria, in which hundreds of people were killed .
A court ordered the couple’s release in 2016, but authorities ignored the decision.
Most of the cult’s 200 members have since been released.
For the past six years, IMN supporters have staged regular protests in the capital Abuja to demand the release of their leader.
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