The Court of Appeal in Kano has ordered the Nigerian Correctional Service to produce Sheikh Abduljabar Kabara before the court to prosecute his appeal against a death sentence handed down by the Upper Shari’a Court for alleged blasphemy.
The Islamic scholar has been in custody since the lower court imposed the sentence. When the appeal came up for hearing on Monday, Presiding Judge Justice Mohammed Lawal-Shuaibu ruled that because the appellant had filed the appeal personally and not through a lawyer, he must appear in person to present his case.
Justice Lawal-Shuaibu was joined on the bench by Justice Abubakar Muazu-Lamido and Justice Ahmad Ramat-Mohammed. The court directed that the Correctional Service produce Sheikh Kabara for the next adjourned date, April 23, 2026, to allow him to prosecute his appeal. The matter was adjourned to that date for hearing at the instance of the defence counsel.
At the outset of proceedings, both parties were absent and unrepresented. Usman Malam-Hussaini then stood up to inform the court that the Islamic scholar had sent him with a letter requesting his transfer from Kuje prison to Kano to gain unrestricted access to his case records.
The Presiding Judge subsequently summoned the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abdulkarim Kabiru-Maude SAN, to appear before the court, and stood down the matter. When it resumed, the Assistant Director of Public Prosecution in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Bar. Zahradeen Kofar-Mata, informed the court that the Attorney General was indisposed. He said he had spoken with him, and the Attorney General had instructed him to tender an apology to the court for his inability to appear in person.
Kofar-Mata stated that the matter had been assigned to a private lawyer and attributed the confusion to a mix-up at the court registry. The Presiding Judge, however, expressed concern over what he described as a lack of respect for the court, given the Attorney General’s absence, and adjourned the matter.
The case continues to draw attention amid ongoing debates over blasphemy laws and judicial processes in Nigeria.
