Prominent Kano-based Islamic cleric, Abduljabbar Kabara, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, alleging that judicial and government authorities systematically obstructed his right to appeal his death sentence.
PREMIUM TIMES obtained a 14-page “Letter of Further Complaint” received by the Supreme Court on 26 March, in which Mr Kabara described his conviction as an unjust, politically motivated attempt to silence him.
The cleric was sentenced to death by hanging in December 2022 by a Kano Upper Sharia Court following remarks deemed blasphemous against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
In the petition, Mr Kabara claimed that his attempts to challenge the 2022 verdict have been “deliberately frustrated.”
Despite filing a notice of appeal shortly after the judgement and submitting additional motions in 2024, he alleged that the judiciary stalled the process and tampered with his filings.
The petitioner further accused certain appellate judges of altering dates and misrepresenting his submissions to favour the Kano State Government.
Moved from Kano correctional facility to the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje, Abuja, in what officials described as “security reasons,” Mr Kabara concluded his petition by urging the CJN to intervene.
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