Kano State Government has engaged four Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to prosecute the controversial Islamic scholar in the state, Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara.
This is as the court resumed hearing of the cleric’s case on Wednesday at an Upper Shari’ah Court sitting at Kofar Kudu in Kano metropolis and presided by Justice Abdullahi Sarki Yola.
Sheikh Kabara was first arraigned before the court on July 16 by Kano government through a First Information Report (FIR) bothering on blasphemy, incitement, and sundry offences.
At the resumed sitting on Wednesday, the lead Prosecution Counsel, Suraj Sa’eda (SAN) urged the court to terminate the first FIR and admit a new charge by the state government dated August 13.
Sa’eda said that a charge must be read and a plea taken before any other objection according to section 390(2) of Kano State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019.
Counsel to the defendant, Mr Saleh Muhammad-Bakaro, told the court that the four SANs for the prosecution representing the Attorney General of Kano State have no jurisdiction to appear before the court.
“Senior Advocates of Nigeria have no jurisdiction to appear before an Upper Shari’a court.
“Section 3, 4,5, and 6(3) privileges and functions rules Legal rights of SAN,” he said.
Muhammad-Bakaro, also prayed the court not to allow fresh charges to be read to the defendant, adding that under Islamic law a charge cannot be changed after a suspect has been arraigned according to sections 2, 108 and 126(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019,” Muhammad-Bakaro said.
The court then fixed September 2 for the ruling in the application for re-arraignment of the cleric.
The judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional centre, pending ruling.
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