The Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, is prepared to sign the death warrant for the imprisoned Islamic cleric Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, according to the state’s commissioner for justice and attorney general, Lawan Musa.
In an interview with Daily Trust on Thursday, the commissioner responded to Abduljabbar’s conviction and sentence to death by hanging following an Upper Sharia Court’s finding that he was convicted of the blasphemy allegation brought against him by the state government.
The ruling of the court was a vindication of the case made by the state government against the priest, according to Musa, who also said that no one is above the law and that the governor was still dedicated to making sure there was no breakdown of law and order in the state.
“Nobody will be allowed to break the law without the necessary actions being taken.
“We took him (Abduljabbar) to court and gave him all the necessary things to defend himself and today, we thank God, the court has seen that we do have a case against him and has convicted him accordingly,” he said.
The commissioner further noted: “Just as it (position of the governor) has not changed in the case of Hanifa, it has equally not changed on this.
“You know there are a lot of procedures to follow and His Excellency is ever ready; once that warrant is brought before him, he is going to sign it.”
Daily Review gathers that the cleric has been allowed to appeal his conviction which means the trial is likely to drag for several months, and given the fact that Ganduje has few months left in his second term mandate, it is highly unlikely he will be able to to sign the death warrant.
