Hawzah News Agency (Tehran - Iran) - The Secretary General of the World Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) Assembly urged Muslim countries to demand that Nigeria’s government ensure the safety and health of senior Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky.

Speaking at a forum in Tehran on Tuesday marking the 4th anniversary of the Zaria Massacre in Nigeria, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani said Islamic countries should use their social and political capacities and demand ensuring Sheikh Zakzaky’s health.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should also act in this respect, he said.

Ayatollah Ramazani noted that Sheikh Zakzkay’s health is in critical conditions and he should receive treatment immediately.

In December 2015, the Nigerian army raided Sheikh Zakzaky’s residence and nearby buildings in the northern city of Zaria.

The top cleric, who is in his mid-sixties, lost his left eyesight in the raid. More than 340 people, including the Sheikh’s sons, were also killed at the hands of the Nigerian army.

Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife as well as a large number of his supporters were arrested following the raid.

The Sheikh was charged just in April 2018 with murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of public peace and other accusations. He has pleaded not guilty.

In 2016, Nigeria’s federal high court ordered his unconditional release from jail following a trial, but the government has so far refused to set him free although his health has been deteriorating in detention.