Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and popular Kano Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Abduljabbar Kabara
By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
An Islamic Group, As’habul Kahfi Warraqeem, Bauchi State Chapter, has said that the recent sentencing of their leader and popular Kano Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Abduljabbar Kabara to death for blasphemy, was “un-Islamic and “negatively manipulated from the beginning to the end.”
They also accused Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, of influencing the Shari’a Court’s judgement which condemned their leader to death.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the NUJ Secretariat, Bauchi, the Public Relations Officer of the group, Abdullahi Musa, who read the text on behalf of the Chairman, Musa Santuraki, alleged that Ganduje “ganged up” with some clerics in the state and labelled false allegations of blasphemy against Abduljabbar in order to have a basis to “eliminate him through the court.”
He said that the blasphemy allegation against their leader was a deliberate campaign of calumny and character assassination because they feel threatened by his popularity adding that the judgement was politically processed by Governor Ganduje because Abduljabbar was critical of his corruption.
They vowed to appeal the judgement soon.
“We are not satisfied with the judgment, because we believe it was influenced by the Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and some clerics in the state who are known to be at loggerheads with him for a long time.
“They therefore ganged up against him and labeled false allegations of blasphemy against him in order to smear him and eliminate him through the court.
“The allegation of blasphemy against the Sheikh is nothing but campaign of calumny and character assassination on the popular cleric by his detractors including Ganduje and some clerics who feel threatened by Abduljabbari’s increasing popularity. Thus, they purported an allegation of blasphemy to give him a bad name and have justification for their evil plan to exterminate his life.
“We have resolved to appeal against the judgment in a higher court of law to quash this unsatisfactory judgment and impose his fundamental human rights especially of freedom of religion and thought as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.”
“Kano state Government and the hostile Clerics to Abduljabbar have teamed up to exterminate his life for the offense he has been pleading not guilty. He and we don’t have the strength to protect him in the court alone, hence our call for legal aid from human rights individuals and organizations to bring us succor.
“We notice that some of the sects who now ganged up to eliminate Abduljabbar were the ones who committed a series of blasphemies in their preaching but nothing was done to them and they continue to practice their religion without hindrance.
“These blasphemers include Qaribu Kabara, Abdulrazak Yahya Haifan, Abbas Jega, Jalo Jalingo, Ahmad Gumi, Abdulwahab Abdullah and Sani Rijiyar Lemo, but because they are close to people in power, they went scot free while our spiritual leader who is innocent is now facing persecution.
“The judgment was politically processed by Governor Ganduje, because he was critical of Governor Ganduje’s corruption and he did not support him.
“Finally, the purported un-Islamic so-called judgment by Ibrahim Sarki Yola is totally wrong and un-Islamic, therefore we reject it because the judgment was negatively manipulated from the beginning to the end,” they alleged.
Musa called on the National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, National and International Human rights Organizations and Human Rights Lawyers like the revered Human Rights Lawyer Mr. Femi Falana, respected Human Rights activist Ahmad Isa Ordinary President, and others to join them “counter this unfair and unjustified gang up against our religious leader by providing legal aid to the Sheikh Abduljabbar.”
