Abduljabbar: I don’t have money, my business is crippled

Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, on Thursday complained that all his businesses have been crippled since he got into detention.

He stated this while responding to a request by the presiding judge of his trial, Abdullahi Sarki-Yola, who demanded he should buy some Hadith books; ‘Sahih Buhari’ and ‘Sahih Muslim’.

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Sheikh Abduljabbar, who was arraigned at an Upper Shari’ah Court sitting in Kofar Kudu over alleged blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), said he did not have money to buy the books.

“I don’t have the money to purchase the books since I was detained for over five months now, my source of income has been ceased.”

The court then ordered the Kano State government to buy the books for him to enable him use them to cross examine the prosecution witness.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the embattled cleric cross examined the witness using a book which the prosecution objected to on the basis that it was not included in the evidence list.

The prosecution counsel, thereafter, applied to the court to subpoena the Chief Librarian of Bayero University Kano to produce the books before the court.

The court granted the prosecution counsel’s application and ordered the registrar to write a letter to Bayero University, Kano, to produce the two Hadith books before it.

The court also directed the defendant to purchase his own copies of the two books without any commentaries.

This led the Director, Public Prosecution, Barrister Aisha Mahmood, to make an undertaking that the Kano State government will volunteer to give Abduljabbar the money to purchase the books before next Monday.

The court adjourned the case till November 25, 2021.

Earlier, the court reversed its ruling of 28th October, 2021 which prevented both the defendant and his lawyers to jointly cross examine a witness.