Press TV- Amnesty International has called on the Nigerian government to comply with a court ruling that calls for an end to the �unlawful� detention of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, the country�s top Shia Muslim cleric.

"Zakzaky is being unlawfully detained,� Amnesty Nigeria director Makmid Kamara said on Monday, adding that the Nigerian government would �demonstrate a flagrant -- and dangerous -- contempt for the rule of law" if it ignored a December ruling by an Abuja court, which called the detention of Sheikh Zakzaky and his followers illegal and unconstitutional.

The Nigerian court has imposed a 45-day deadline for the release of Sheikh Zakzaky�and hundreds of his supporters. The deadline expires later on Monday.

Sheikh Zakzaky, who leads the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), was arrested more than a year ago during raids by the Nigerian army on peaceful gatherings of IMN members�in the northern city of Zaria. Human rights groups say nearly 350 IMN members were killed in the army raids. The Nigerian military has rejected the death toll.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] This August 11, 2016 photo shows protesters from the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) holding a banner with a photograph of the detained leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky to press for his release in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]

Amnesty said the government in Nigeria could extend Zakzaky�s detention on trumped-up charges in a bid to justify the crackdown on IMN members in Zaria in Kaduna State.

"This might be part of a wider effort to cover up the gruesome crimes committed by members of the security forces in Zaria in December 2015 that left hundreds dead,� said Kamara.

The government in Abuja has yet to react to Amnesty�s call for Zakzaky�s release. Officials in the Kaduna State Government have accused the cleric and IMN supporters of committing �acts of lawlessness� over the past 30 years, charges that Nigeria�s judges have dismissed.