By Abdulgafar Oladimeji
Kano Upper shariah court has cautioned persons attending the blasphemy trial of embattled Kano cleric sheikh Abdulajabr Kabara to desist from solitary recording of the court proceeding to avoid been prosecuted for committing contempt of court.
The kadi, who Thursday fumed prior to the commencement of the trial of the arraigned cleric, warned that the attention of the court has been drawn to recorded versions of unauthorized court proceedings that have gone viral on social media networks.
The judge warned that, the courtroom is sacrosanct, adding that the defilement of the sanctity of the court will not be tolerated, he warned that henceforth security operatives would be on the watch out for those who illicitly record the proceedings of the court.
Responding, Suraju Saida, SAN assured the court that lawyers involved in the trial sessions have and would always conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of their legal callings.
When the court sessions commenced, when given the chance to address the court, Sheikh Abduljabar Kabara narrated that his former lawyers misled him not to respond to the charges earlier filed against him at the previous sitting, a development that resulted to his keeping mute when he was made to respond to the charges.
” Two days before coming to the court at 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.
“when the charges was read, I kept quiet, then it was decided that I should be subjected to mental and ear medical checks to determine my health status, my lawyers who advised me to remain mute, where all here, they did not defend me, ion that day , what surprise me more was that I saw them chatting and laughing with the prosecution lawyers.
“I feel bad, they whole process of determining my mental and ear state of health even involved them interviewing my wife and asking to know about our marital life, even up to asking her questions about our sexual life. This is painful and disgusting.” Sheikh Abduljabar lamented , in an open court session sitting at Kofar Kudu
