…accuses authorities of denying his detained parents proper medical treatment
Mohammed, a son of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has raised the alarm that his mother, Zeena, detained along with his father in Kaduna prison, has contracted COVID-19 and is being denied the necessary treatment by prison authorities.
Mohammed said, on Thursday, that his mother should have been moved out of the prison to an isolation centre or a standard hospital, where she can access proper care required by COVID-19 patients, which she’s not getting at present.
He accused the authorities of the Kaduna Correctional Service of deliberately refusing to inform the Kaduna State Government and the other appropriate authorities of his mother’s COVID-19 status and deteriorating health.
Mohammed stated this in a statement titled, ‘COVID-19 Hits Kaduna Prison, As My Mother Tested Positive’, saying his mother had since lost her ability to smell due to her Coronavirus status.
The detained Shi’ite leader’s son said, “Six days ago after a routine visit to the Kaduna State prison by my parent’s doctors, my mother complained of fatigue, fever and a complete loss of the ability to smell. The doctors decided to carry out a number of standard tests in order to understand what the problem was.
“Among the tests that were carried out was a test for the novel corona virus also known as COVID-19. This was a routine procedure and it is important to understand that she has been denied treatment for acute medical conditions, including severe arthritis of the knee for years now.
“The COVID-19 test came back positive… Once I heard of the result, my first act was to ensure that it was tried, tested and confirmed. I expected that following our risky entrance into the predictable petri dish of Kaduna State prison for what it is; the person in charge of Kaduna State prison will officially do his job.
“And must inform the State Governor Nasir el-Rufai and the chain of command that the current campaign of torture, extortion, corruption and murder has come to this and my mother, Zeenah Ibraheem, needs to be immediately hospitalised. This has not been done and so I have no choice but to scream the details out.”
Mohammed said although the deputy comptroller in charge of the prison gave unrestricted access for all medical staff to deliver primary care to his mother, they were harassed by officials at the facility.
El-Zakzaky’s son said his mother was again tested to effectively ascertain that she was actually positive.
But he lamented that inspite of the two positive results, his mother had not been moved to an isolation centre or a standard hospital for treatment.
“I want to ask; why is my mother not in a hospital? Why are you doing this? We all know that COVID-19 requires an immediate response of urgent adherence to medical advice. Why are the rules being bent against her and him? By her I mean my mother Zeenah Ibraheem. By him I mean Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed, therefore, pleaded with Nigerians to save his mother “who is currently infected with COVID-19.”
El-Zakzaky’s wife, Zeena, according to a copy of her COVID-19 test result sighted by our correspondent on Thursday, indicated that a second test conducted on her returned positive again on January 20, 2021.
The result of her test titled ‘Kaduna State Laboratory Test Report (DNA, ABU, X Pert)’, also had the stamp of the Kaduna State Ministry of Health.
But inspite of her COVID-19 status, the prison authorities, it was learnt, have been making efforts to treat her inside the facility rather than transferring her to an isolation centre.
Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Correctional Service, Chuks Njoku, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing this report.
Njoku neither picked his calls nor replied to SMS sent to his phone.
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), confirmed that his client had contracted COVID-19 in prison.
“It is true. She has tested positive,” he said.
El-Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention for over five years. In December 2015, soldiers attacked his Zaria residence, where they seriously injured him, killed hundreds of his followers and some of his children.
Since then, the Shi’ite leader has been in detention at first in Abuja until he was released in late 2016.
In 2019, a court in Kaduna State granted him and his wife bail to seek treatment abroad but they returned from India after three days, alleging unfair treatment and tough restrictions by security operatives deployed to the hospital.