By Uzair Adam Imam
The case of Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, a famous Kano-based controversial cleric, accused of defamation, has continued to attract a great deal of public attention.
The entire Kano population is eagerly waiting to see what the court will decide on the fate of the embattled sheikh on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
However, while the court decision on the case remains unpredictable, the two parties, Kabara and the Kano State Coalition of Ulama, wish to win the case.
On July 10, 2021, Kano State Government organised a debate between Kabara and some of the state’s scholars to defend himself over what the Ulama Coalition described as blasphemy.
However, according to the statement made by the judge of the debate, Professor Salisu Shehu, Kabara failed to clear his name or defend his utterances.
‘Where Abduljabbar gets it wrong’ – Awaisu Al’arabee Fagge
In several commentaries and reading sessions, the embattled cleric assumes himself more knowledgeable than any other Islamic scholar of his time and history. He also disregards and criticises any view that does not sit well with his belief.
Holding to this belief, Kabara lambasts any legal pronouncement by the prophet’s companions and, worse, defames Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself in his subsequent preaches, which he falsely attributes to some Islamic scholars.
However, Kabara’s counterparts in Kano stood up to put an end to his unsavoury teachings and controversies while bringing many books, including rejoinders some of the scholars published.
The Kano State Government also organised a debate between Kabara and some of the state’s scholars, where, as judged, he failed woefully.
Kabara drags to the court after his defeat
Abduljabbar was subsequently arraigned on Friday, July 16, before an Upper Sharia Court Judge, Kofar Kudu, Alkali Ibrahim Sarki Yola, where the charges included blasphemy, incitement, and sundry offences were mentioned.
The development followed the receipt of the First Information Report from the police by the Office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, which prepared charges against the cleric.
However, something dramatic happened at the court as Kabara alleged that his attorney, Dalhatu Shehu Usman, received N2 million as a bribe to influence the Upper Shari’ah court judge presiding over the case.
“My lawyer told me he gave the judge N1.3 million, another person N200,000, and he himself took N500,000,” Kabara alleged.
Thus, the cleric continued to quarrel with his lawyers and laid claims and allegations against them since the beginning of the court sitting.
All this comes to an end tomorrow, Thursday, 15 December 2022.
