Followers of Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru-Kabara, sentenced to death in Kano for blasphemy, have decried alleged attempts to block the appeal he filed against the court judgement.

Ibrahim-Abdullahi Warure, who spoke on behalf of the followers in a press conference on Sunday in Kano, accused some clerics of mounting pressure to dismiss the appeal.

According to Mr Warure, the clerics have allegedly been mounting pressure on the incoming government and the court to support the death sentence.

He said the followers would continue pursuing the case before the High Court in Kano until justice is done to their spiritual leader.

According to him, the appeal is an inalienable right of the cleric as enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria.

He advised the “antagonistic” clerics to allow the court to do its job without any form of interference.

“We condemn their endemic campaign of calumny against our revered Sheikh and their threat to the court, which we consider a contempt of court and government,” Mr Warure added.

He urged security agencies to call those opposed to the appeal to order, to prevent them from using it as a ploy to disrupt the peace in the event “Sheikh Abduljabbar eventually triumph in court.”

The cleric was, on July 17, 2021, imprisoned for blasphemy and subsequently sentenced to death by hanging on December 15, 2022, by an Upper Shari’a Court in Kano.

He filed an appeal against the death sentence before the High Court in Kano. 

( NAN)