Nigeria’s Shia cleric Zakzaky in Tehran
Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky arrived in Iran on Wednesday as part of his second foreign visit after the termination of his home arrest by the Nigerian government.
“We are all under a great test, and it is hoped that the Islamic Revolution will bring about change in the whole world, including in the US and Europe, to set the ground for the emergence of the last Shia Imam, Imam Mahdi (PBUH),” Sheikh Zakzaky said in an address at the airport, Press TV reported.
Sheikh Zakzaky, the founder of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, is scheduled to attend an official ceremony held in the University of Tehran on Saturday.
In December 2015, Nigerian army troops attacked Sheikh Zakzaky’s residence and a place of worship belonging to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, killing over three hundred and forty of his supporters in Zaria, Kaduna state.
He had remained under state detention in the Nigerian capital pending his release, which was ordered in late 2016. Last year, the Kaduna state higher court exonerated him from any charges and ordered his immediate release after 2,055 days of illegal detention.