In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Abu Said expressed deep concerns of the deterioration of the medical condition of Sheikh Zakzaky, who has been imprisoned for four years now, saying the top Shia cleric should be released and undergo treatments before its too late.

Sheikh Zakzaky, who is in his mid-sixties, lost his left eyesight in a 2015 raid by security forces that left more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons dead. His wife also sustained serious wounds.

Here is the full text of the interview:

Do you confirm the reports on poisoning Sheikh Zakzaky in prison?

Unfortunately, Sheikh Zakzaky’s health condition has recently been deteriorated. He has already lost one of his eyes and is not physically able to move.

According to the information available, there is a high probability that he has been injected with a substance that would kill him slowly; Nigeria’s authorities refuse to deal with the issue and follow his health condition; this has increased the concerns.

Is the Nigerian government trying to slowly kill Sheikh Zakzaky?

There is some unconfirmed information to date that a major country is pushing Nigeria’s government and security agencies to abandon Sheik Zacksaki in jail to get rid of him slowly. That is because Sheik Zakzaky has always taken national positions regarding the central issues and other strategic topics.

This is not new! Because such rumors have been spreading while no one has denied them. Therefore, strong and serious warnings have been sent to the Nigerian government about the consequences of this irrational and unjustifiable measure against Sheikh Zakzaky; this arrest is illegal.

Do the UN or other international human rights organizations pursue Sheikh Zakzaky’s case?

Yes, it [the UN] has paid attention to this issue. We have also been focusing on the issue at the International Committee on Human Rights. In the same vein, we have conveyed a message to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari through the secretary-general of ICHR in West Africa to push him to release the top cleric.

We will keep our stance and continue our efforts with the help of all the UN-supervised institutions and authorities to prevent any interference by some major countries in dealing with Sheikh Zakzaky’s issue and internal affairs.

What ways are there to push the Nigerian government to release Sheikh Zakzaky?

There are several ways to free Sheikh Zakzaky from prison, including imposing a full criminal charge on Nigeria’s highest authority.

We will send a clear letter addressed to Nigeria’s President Buhari to explain everything related to this issue. Because otherwise, the situation will get harder, and if the Sheikh Zakzaky is not treated immediately, worse things may happen to him.