The Court of Appeal in Kano has directed the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to produce Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abduljabar Kabara, who is currently on death row, to appear in court for the hearing of his appeal.
The order was issued on Monday by the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Lawal-Shuaibu, alongside Justices Abubakar Muazu-Lamido and Ahmad Ramat-Mohammed. The court noted that the appellant filed his appeal personally without legal representation and must therefore be present to argue his case.
Sheikh Kabara was convicted by an Upper Shari’a Court and sentenced to death by hanging for blasphemy. He is currently in custody.
During proceedings, the court observed that neither party was present nor represented. At that point, a man identified as Usman Malam-Hussaini informed the court that the cleric had requested to be transferred from Kuje Prison to Kano to enable better access to his legal documents.
In response, the court summoned the Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abdulkarim Kabiru-Maude (SAN), and temporarily stood down the case. However, when the matter resumed, the Attorney General was absent.
An Assistant Director of Public Prosecution in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Zahradeen Kofar-Mata, told the court that the Attorney General was indisposed and conveyed his apology. He added that the case had been assigned to a private lawyer and blamed administrative errors at the registry for the confusion.
Justice Lawal-Shuaibu criticised the Attorney General for failing to appear, describing it as a sign of disrespect to the court.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to April 23, 2026, ordering that the Correctional Service produce the appellant on that date to proceed with the appeal.
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