Nigeria ,Iranian Diplomatic Ties Now Under Threat

By Abdulmumini Adeku

The diplomatic ties between The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Islamic Republic of Iran may be heading for a collision course due to a recent pronouncement of a Nigerian high court Judge which stated that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria with ties with Teheran was a terrorist organization.

Checks by The Premier Newspaper  in  Lagos,  shows that  just last month the Nigerian Embassy through one of its top officials the Charge D’affairs was summoned by its hosts and given  a tongue lash over the Shabby treatment meted out to top cleric  Sheikh Ibrahim El Zakzaky…

It’s not known by this medium the  level of trade balance between Nigeria and Iran but the latter is a more stable and more powerful economy in all forms and accounts than the African nation hence it will not be in the best interests of Abuja to bite them.

A stitch  in time saves nine..

About 198 legislators from The Iranian legislature were also believed to have issued out strong worded statements asking The Nigerian authorities in Abuja to thread very carefully on the contentious matter.

TEHRAN – A number of Iranian MPs issued a statement on Tuesday urging release of Nigerian Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky.

The statement was signed by 198 lawmakers.

Zakzaky is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and has been detained since December 2015 in a raid on his residence in which he lost his left eyesight.

The raid by security forces that left more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons dead. His wife also sustained serious wounds.

In 2016, Nigeria’s federal high court ordered Zakzaky’s unconditional release from jail following a trial, but the government has so far refused to set him free.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), based in London, said earlier in July that the cleric’s health condition had further deteriorated, since he was reportedly poisoned in prison.

The cleric’s son, Mohammad, told Press TV on July 6 that his father was in dire need of medical treatment, as “large and dangerous quantities of lead and cadmium have been found in his blood.” He said that the authorities intended to murder his father since they refuse to take any measures.