By Suleiman Umaru
More facts have emerged why there was a stalemate in the treatment of Sheikh Ibrahim el-ZakZaky, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran backed Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, popular, the Shiites Moslems, in Medanta Hospital, regarded as one of the best and most expensive in India. This is because the IMN leader had wanted to use the Indian Hospital as an escape route to Iran to continue his treatment where he believed he would be better taken care of by the Iranian Doctors.
The Iran government through Mohammed Montazeri, the country’s Prosecutor General or Attorney General in the Nigerian context, had earlier declared interest to take over the treatment of the Shiite leader in Nigeria, accusing the Nigerian government of poor handling of his treatment and that of Zeenat, his wife.
The Iranian government may not have hidden their plan to take over the IMN leader treatment going by the Correspondence between the two countries on the matter. In one of the letters to the government last July, by Montazeri at the instance of Hassan Rhouhani, the Iranian President, he had urged the country’s Judicial Authorites to take steps with their Judicial Independence and support for a Captor Citizen, as they described el-Zazaky and provide ground for his release and transfer him to Islamic Reoublic of Iran for treatment. That may have informed why the government put the security agencies on the alert to ensure that the Iranian Authorities did not have their way.
Security sources informed The Value News that el ZakZaky had refused to be treated by the Medanta Hospital Doctors , describing them as ‘’strange Doctors’’ because of the failure of the Hospital Authorities to facilitate his escape to Iran from the Airport.
The Iranian government were said to have perfected plot for the escape of the IMN leader to be carried out from the airport with an aircraft that was said to have been provided for the purpose that was already on ground.
It was learnt that the plot was hatched by the Iranian Authorities the moment it became clear that he was coming to India for treatment. It was gathered that some Iranian security officials in their Embassy in Indian had reached out to some staff of the Hospital to assist in ensuring the escape of El-ZakZaky to Islamic Republic of Iran an attempt, to evade his ongoing terrorism trial I Nigeria.
The Hospital Staff who were approached may have read in-between the lines that they quickly informed the Authority , which took up the matter with the Indian government about the overtures made and declared their unwillingness to receive the high profile Nigeria patient in their Hospital to avoid turning it into a meeting ground for the Shiites to free him.
Insiders informed the Magazine that officials of the Indian government were not happy at the involvement of the Iranian government to aid and abet the escape of the IMN leader who facing trial in Nigeria. The Indian government officials were said to pleaded with the Hospital Authorities not to back out as people might read meaning to it. The government was thinking of the backlash effect that may result from such an action. The Hospital Authority having agreed to receive the Nigerian Shiite patient may have force the government to beef up security around the Hospital. The Chief Medical Director of the Hospital was said to have also been promised extra security for the high profile patient with the deployment of Immigration and other security agencies to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order. The government was said to have changed most of the Immigration officials at the airport who may have been Compromised and replaced them with fresh hands.
Given the support from the Indian Seat of Power in New Delhi, and the security agencies , the Hospital was emboldened in creating a decoy by using a different from the airport in order to take unawares the security officials mandated by the Iranian government to execute the plot.
El- ZakZaky may have been availed of the plot that he refused to board the government Aircraft provided for the trip but chose to fly the Emirates with his personal Aides and personal Physician. He got it wrong as the government insisted that the Department of State Security Service , DSS, accompanying them to India must be on the same aircraft.
The insistence of the government that the DSS Personnel must be with them on the Emirate flight may have occurred to him that the game is up. The DSS personnel may have played along with his him as he made a stopover in Dubai to reach out to some close associates .
Unknown to him the Medanta Authority has put up extra security measures in place to ensure a smooth ride from the airport to the Hospital without any hitch or plan to escape. The extra security measure may have rattled el-ZakZaky who was visibly shaken and angry because of the large presence of security Operatives from the airport route to the Hospital last Tuesday.
The situation may have forced him to insist on going to insist that he wants to mewithet his supporters in order to give them a message. But the Hospital Doctors were said to have pleaded with him to call off whatever he has had of talking to his followers as his health was more important for now . They were said to have made it clear that his failing health would not would withstand such a meeting. The advice may not have gone down with him as he resorted to plan B, by refusing any form of access to him by the Doctors without the supervision of his personal Physicians.
He has justified his action to the fact his religion ‘’forbids for a non-Shia to take his blood sample for Laboratory test’’. The Medanta Hospital Management according to sources were infuriated that they quickly made provision for him to be transferred to another Hospital but was turned down by the government.
The government of India , has every reason to give extra security support the Medanta Hospital for fear of any Diplomatic row with Nigeria, if el-ZakZaky, the IMN, leader, who was brought to the country for medical treatment should escape to Iran or any other Islamic country for asylum.
Note that most of the patients patronising the Mendata Hospital are Nigerians and the Hospital Managemt are not ready to lose the Nigerian Customers who are bringing in millions of dollar to its purse because of one Shiite patient from the country.
Aware that all the plans made by the Islamic Republic of Iran for his escape has ailed, he was forced to request for his return back to Nigeria to seek help from friendly nations like the European country of Turkey and the Asian Country of Malaysia to continue his treatment. He may have made people to believe that he has no plan of going to Iran but that was uppermost in his mind.
It was not surprising that when the Emirate aircraft touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport , Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Friday, August 16, 2019, he was quickly whisked away by DSS Personnel to avoid granting interview to Journalists who had laid ambush for him at the airport.
His followers. may not have helped matters as they were outside with his larger than size posters singing war songs. They were shocked when information leaked out that he had been taken away by DSS personnel to an undisclosed Hospital , forcing them to leave the airport in anger.
