An Upper Sharia Court in Kano State, Northwest Nigeria has sentenced Islamic cleric, Abduljabbar Kabara, to death by hanging.
The court had earlier convicted the cleric after finding him guilty of the charge of blasphemy levelled against him.
Kabara was standing trial on the issue bordering on blasphemous statements against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), an act capable of inciting public peace..
He was charged in July 2021 by the Kano State government.
The presiding judge, Sarki Yola orders the state government to seize the two mosques owned by the cleric.
The judge also urged media to desist from using any of the cleric’s teachings and pictures and other related items
The convict was thereafter given 30 days to appeal the judgment or forfeit his right to appeal.
A mild drama however ensued in the course of the judgment by the Court with a lawyer who was supposedly representing the convicted Cleric urging the Court to show leniency in its ruling.
The Lawyer, Aminu Abubakar, had urged the Court to consider the ignorance of the Imam and grant him leniency but the Cleric disputed his claims saying he did not know the lawyer describing him as an impostor.
The Cleric, Kabara AbdulJabbar, said the Lawyer is an unknown person to him and should be disregarded in the Course of the Court’s ruling.
He disclosed that He will die a hero if he is killed following his conviction for Blasphemy .
He added that he will speak for himself before the Court and that the Lawyer does not speak for him.
His protests were however ignored by the Court and the lawyer accepted as his Counsel.
The Cleric however following the acceptance of the Counsel by the Court urged the Presiding Judge not to do him any favours accusing the Judge of having twisted his submission before the Court and ascribing comments he never made to him.
