The Upper Shari’ah Court
sitting at Kofar Kudu in Kano
has ordered mental and
hearing checks on
controversial cleric, Sheik
Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara.
The presiding judge, Ibrahim
Sarki Yola, gave the order, on
Thursday, following a request
by the prosecution counsel,
Surajo Sa’ida.
Justice Sarki-Yola ordered that
the cleric be examined by a
psychiatrist at Dawanau
Psychiatric Hospital in the state
for check on his mental health,
as well as by an audiologist at
Murtala Muhammad Specialists
Hospital, to find out why he
was mum to all the new
charges read before him.
Prosecution counsel, Surajo
Sa’ida, had earlier read four
new count charges against the
cleric bothering on blasphemy
and using offensive words on
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
during his teachings, which
according to him, are against
the provisions of section 382(b)
of Kano State Shari’ah Law,
2000.
However, the presiding judge
ruled that the cleric’s silence to
all the charges implied that he
is pleading not guilty as
provided by section 278 (i) of
ACGL, 2019.
Earlier, the defendant counsel,
Saleh M. Bakaro, argued that
the prosecution counsels have
no right to withdraw the initial
First Information Report (FIR)
form, with the intention of
replacing it with fresh charges.
But, Justice Sarki-Yola, ruled
that the form could be replaced
by the prosecuting counsels, in
line with the provisions of
section 390 (i) of ACGL, 2015.
Counsel to the defendant,
Barrister Bakaro, however
requested for all the court’s
proceedings from the date of
the first arraignment for them
to appeal to Kano State High
Court, especially on the
replacement of the first charges
in the first FIR with a new one
and the subsequent
reintroduction of four new
Senior Advocates of Nigeria
(SAN) by the state government,
which he argued did not have
jurisdiction under the court’s
provisions.