Ahmad Tijjani Abdul, Kano
Kano controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara, standing trial for blasphemy at the Upper Sharia court on Thursday told the court why he dropped his lawyers.
Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara who gave insight on the action explained that they allegedly misled him in the ongoing case, adding that “they convinced me to refuse to talk in Court on the last sittings on account that if he is considered mentally deranged he will have soft punishment against the expected capital punishment.”
Sheikh Kabara narrated that his former lawyers misled him not to respond to the charges earlier filed against him at the previous sitting, stressing that he complied to their instructions by keeping mute at the last sitting.
He said, “two days before coming to that court for the last sitting, the lawyers came to the correctional facility where I was detained. They informed me that I was going to appear in court and that the charges would be read to me. Then they cautioned me that those charges were traps set to frame me that if I accept those allegations, I have walked into a technical suicide trap that have been set for me.
” They told me that already my fate has been decided that the judgement has already been written against me by this court and the only way out for me is to keep quiet. At this point, I asked them, what is the implication of my keeping quiet. They told me, they will handle it. That, after the case they will address the press. They now asked me to provide N500,000.00 for them to organize a press conference and I gave them N300,000.00.
Unfortunately, on that day in court, I kept quiet as instructed, the court them ordered that I should undergo mental and hearing test, and then my lawyers did not object. Rather I see them charting with the prosecution lawyers, I felt embarrassed. It is these same lawyers who joined me with a top civil servant in the state. I will not disclose his or her name.
“The top government official advised me to allow for a medical report confirming that I am mentally sick and I will be condemned but in the process I will regain my freedom and they need only one million naira to use the media to carry the process”. Kabara narrated
In a swift response, the spokesperson of the Defense lawyers, Rabiu Shuaibu Abdullahi told reporters in Kano that they are not legally in a position to reveal what happened between them and their client, but however, they advised him to embrace appropriate channel within two weeks or they would take legal action against him.
“We are legal practitioners and are guided by professional ethics, so there is no way we can reveal what happened between us and our client to the public.
“However, we call on our client Sheikh Abduljabbar to report the allegations he has against us, which he mentioned to the court this morning to the proper authority so that we can be quizzed for violating professional ethics.
“If by two weeks he fails to do that we will be forced to take the necessary action to protect our image and integrity” Shuaibu threatened.