SAN FRANCISCO, November 08, (THEWILL) – Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that it costs the Nigerian government N3.5 million naira a month to feed Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, otherwise known as Shiite.
Mohammed made the statement which has gone viral on social media on Wednesday following the decision of the Kaduna court which denied the IMN leader bail.
The IMN leader and his wife have been in detention after they were arrested in Zaria, in December 2015.
They were first arraigned on May 15, 2018 and charged over alleged murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace, among others.
They have subsequently been denied bail severally while El-Zakzaky’s followers have continuously been having violent clashes with the security operatives, especially the Nigerian army.
After a bail application was entered again in court on Wednesday and was denied, the minister addressed some journalists where he informed them that El-Zakzaky was kept in a safe place.
He however added that it costs the Nigerian government a whopping sum of N3.5 million naira a month to feed the IMN leader who is in detention.
According to the minister, “the issue of whether, where he is, let’s keep it off record. He is in a residence and eating; I mean, it costs the government N3.5 million naira every month to feed him.
“We don’t want to inflame passion. Islamic Movement in Nigeria are a different kettle of fish.”
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