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Sokoto Crises: members sentenced to eight year
imprisonment 28/5/08
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Detained members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, who were in detention for several months, were sentenced to eight-year jail term each. In a Judgment delivered in the early morning of Tuesday the 27th May, 2008, by Muhammadu Mustapha Balle of the Upper Sharia Court I in Sokoto, Mallam kasimu Umar and 112 members who have been languishing in prison custody since July last year, are sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option. The charges include unlawful assembly while armed with ‘deadly weapons’, inciting the public, obstructing public servants from discharging their duties, constituting public nuisance, resisting arrest and insulting or exciting contempt of religious creed. However, many people said that these are baseless charges against the peaceful members of the Islamic Movement in Sokoto who have been conducting their activities peacefully for over 25 years. View Pictures of Sokoto Markaz during its Commissioning in 2003 Members of the Islamic Movement in Sokoto were arrested after the killing of one Umar Danmaishiyya by yet to be identified assassins. The said murder is believed by many, to have been carried out by Government agents for the man’s continuous attack on government policies in the state at that time. However, No evidence could be established linking the killing of Danmaishiyya to the peaceful members of the Islamic Movement, which made the court to drop murder charges early this year against the members. But, yet for unknown reasons, the Judge, after delay tactics, passed eight years imprisonment sentences against the accused persons for charges mentioned above which were not proved beyond reasonable doubt as provided by the law. The lawyer representing the members of the pavement was not in the court and those accused were not brought to the court neither at the time of the judgement. The members of the movement protest the court judgment and described it as open injustice. Many are of the view that Alu Wammako must have influenced the Judge in delivering the Judgements. All along, the Judges were accused of taking side with Government to achieve one thing or the other. People opined that in sentencing the members for eight years, Wammako wants to make sure the members of the movement remain out of public arena throughout his tenure, so that there would not be anybody condemning their daily acts of stealing public resources and explaining to the people . Members of the Islamic Movement in Sokoto have suffered series of persecutions since the killing of Umar Danmaishiyya; they were subjected to all forms of aggressions by the Sokoto state Government who instigated hoodlums against them. More than 4 members were killed at the height of the government sponsored carnage during which landed properties worth millions of Naira belonging to Members of the Movement in the state were destroyed. Related news:
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