Embattled leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Friday afternoon aboard Ethiopian Airlines.
The aircraft touched down at exactly 12:05 pm and the couple was whisked away via the VIP wing of the airport by security operatives stationed at the airport to receive him.
Scores of journalists and friends of the sect leader who waited at the arrival wing of Abuja Airport to interview and welcome the couple were totally disappointed. None of them saw him.
The couple travelled four days ago aboard Emirates Airlines.
On arrival in India, El-Zakzaky lamented that the new doctors asked to treat him were different from those booked for him before his departure from Nigeria.
He further agonized over the alleged horrible treatment the management of Medanta Hospital, India subjected him to; saying they were handling him poorly like a criminal, a claim the federal government said was totally untrue.
The spokesperson for the IMN, Ibrahim Musa, said Mr El-Zakzaky began his return journey to Abuja at 5 p.m. Nigerian time.
A video clip posted on Twitter on showed Mr El-Zakzaky saying that officials of the Indian hospital were in agreement with him to return to Nigeria, following a stalemate over the choice of doctors to treat them and the terms of engagement.
Two days after he arrived in India, the Shiite cleric, in a video clip in Hausa language lamented choky nature of the strange security personnel around him and his wife.
He said the matter was worsened by the hospital’s refusal to allow his personal doctors supervise his treatment as he had anticipated.
Reacting to his claims, the federal government said the ordeal of the cleric stemmed from a gross violation of standard travel protocol, a development that left his host country with no option than to subject him to laid down rules and regulations for such misconduct.
However, El-Zakzaky’s daughter,
Suhaila on Thursday expressed fears her father could die soon as he is currently suffering from lead poisoning and as such, deserves a thorough medical treatment.
She explained that her father’s doctors had warned that the poison should not be allowed to affect organs of his body.
Suhaila raised the fears in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) while stressing that her father deserves proper treatment.
“I am really worried, especially because of the lead and cadmium poisoning.
“His doctors say if he gets to a certain level his organs could start failing and that’s really scary because that means he could just die at any moment,” Suhaila lamented.
The Shiite leader and his wife were able to travel following the ruling of Justice Darius Khobo of Kaduna State High Court.
He granted the IMN leader’s request to take care of his deteriorating health overseas; but ruled that he would travel in the company of state officials.
The embattled cleric had asked to be allowed to travel to India to be properly treated for injuries he sustained during his arrest in December 2015.
The couple was accompanied on the trip by a police doctor, two officials of the Department of State Security (DSS) and four family members.
El-Zakzaky and his wife were arrested after soldiers clamped down on the Shiites killing over 300 members of the sect for allegedly blocking a public road and preventing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai from passing.