Embattled Islamic cleric from Kano State, Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasir Kabara, who was being detained in Kuje correctional centre, Abuja, over blasphemy charges, has filed an urgent petition to the President of the Court of Appeal, alleging a plot by the Kano State Government to destroy his vital court documents through the proposed demolition of Kurmawa Prison, Kano, where he was held previously.
In a six-page letter dated March 13, 2026, a copy obtained by our correspondent, Sheikh Abduljabbar expressed fears that the plan to convert the correctional facility into a museum is a “calculated attempt” to suppress his pending appeal against his sentence by a shariah court in the state.
The cleric alleged that his legal documents remain stored in his former cell at Kurmawa Prison in Kano.
He cited reports from a “credible source” alleging that the Special Adviser to the Kano State Governor on Information, Ibrahim Adam, had confirmed the government’s intent to demolish the facility.
“The demolition of Kurmawa Prison could serve as an opportunity for the Kano State Government to destroy/destruct these important documents of my case,” the petition reads.
Abduljabbar further alleged that there have been physical attempts to tamper with his records, including an incident in which the locks on his cell were reportedly broken while he was away.
The appellant also drew the Appeal Court President’s attention to what he described as “gross manipulation” and “poor translation” of court proceedings by the Appeal and Translation Department.
He claimed to have identified three different versions of the Transmitted Record of Proceedings, totalling 3,939 pages, which contain conflicting serial numbers and acknowledgements.
He argued that these discrepancies were designed to mislead the Court of Appeal and prevent it from realising that his case is an “Academic Exercise Case,” which he maintains falls under the jurisdiction of universities rather than conventional courts, according to the Nigerian Constitution.
Abduljabbar urged the President of the Court of Appeal to prevent the destruction of case documents currently held under “intense pressure” from the state government, and to examine the “distorted” translations of his Hausa-language Brief of Argument and other exhibits.
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