Detained Cleric Tells CJN He Was Targeted After Rejecting Plan to Turn Him Into a Terror Figure
KANO, Nigeria — Abduljabbar Sheikh Nasir Kabara has detonated a political and judicial firestorm from his detention cell, declaring that his death sentence was not justice but retaliation.
In a searing petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria dated March 26, 2026, the Kano cleric made allegations. He claimed that powerful interests moved against him. This happened after he refused to be drawn into what he described as a dangerous plot. The plot aimed to remake him into a radical, Iran-style religious figure.
Kabara is now on death row. This follows his 2022 conviction for blasphemy by an Upper Sharia Court in Kano. He insists the case against him was never about doctrine. He says it was about control.
“With utmost respect, I… write this letter… to promote my complaint regarding the above-mentioned appeal,” he stated, after accusing the judicial system of ignoring earlier petitions.
“A Trial Conducted Blindly”
Kabara’s account of his trial is stark. He claims the proceedings were predetermined and driven by power rather than evidence.
He described a process in which, according to him, the court “used judicial authority to impose guilt” despite what he insists was a lack of proof that any crime had been committed.
“Any just person who reads the nearly 5,000-page record… will feel pain and sorrow over the injustice done to me,” he wrote.
The ultimate outcome, he said, was a sentence that went beyond punishment into something more severe.
“They declared my blood lawful through death by hanging.”
Appeal “Blocked, Distorted, Suppressed”
At the centre of Kabara’s petition is a claim that his right to appeal has been systematically obstructed.
He said he filed his notice of appeal within days of the judgment in December 2022. He followed it with multiple legal processes. Yet, more than three years later, he claims the case has been stalled.
“The Respondent used power and stopped the appeal,” he alleged.
He further claimed that even a second appeal filed in December 2024 was halted. He alleged that judges attempted to assign the matter to a panel without jurisdiction.
Kabara also accused the appellate court of misstating critical facts.
“With all due respect, I did not file two processes; I filed four processes,” he said, disputing official records of his filings.
The Explosive Political Allegation
But it is Kabara’s political claims that turn the case from a legal dispute into a national controversy.
He claimed that former Education Minister Adamu Adamu played a central role in efforts to recruit him. They aimed to reshape him into a revolutionary religious figure. The parallels are drawn with Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.
According to Kabara, he was taken into circles linked to Iran and exposed to plans he found deeply troubling.
“The biggest… thing… was the statement… that they want to make me… like Ayatullah Khomeini in Iran,” he wrote.
He said he rejected the proposal immediately, fearing it would lead to violence and bloodshed.
“This… meant I would become the cause of shedding the blood and lives of my fellow Nigerians.”
Kabara further alleged that financial inducements followed. He claimed he was offered millions of naira, contracts and foreign training to secure his cooperation.
Despite what he described as “extreme need”, he said he refused.
“I disliked even speaking with him… due to the dirty need they want assign me to do.”
From Refusal to Crackdown
According to Kabara, his refusal triggered a backlash.
He alleged that armed security forces later surrounded his home and mosque for days. They made subsequent efforts to dismantle his influence. They also attempted to seize his institutions.
“That was why battalion of security forces was sent… with orders to open fire,” he claimed.
He also alleged that the legal case itself became a tool in this campaign. He accused authorities of manipulating charges. They influenced his legal representation.
Missing Files, Silenced Petitions
Kabara’s petition also raises alarm over the handling of his case documents.
He claimed prison authorities separated him from critical records needed for his defence. Meanwhile, senior officials ignored his repeated calls for intervention.
“The prison authority used power to separate me from all my case documents,” he wrote.
He said his earlier petitions to the President of the Court of Appeal received no response, either in writing or in action.
A System on Trial
Kabara’s claims remain allegations. They arise when Nigeria’s blasphemy prosecutions face intense scrutiny. Concerns are growing over fair hearing and due process. There is also worry about balancing religious law with constitutional rights.
What began as a courtroom verdict in Kano has now escalated into something far larger.
A test of the judiciary.
A question of power.
And a battle over whether the appeal process itself can be trusted.
For Kabara, the stakes could not be higher.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, he says, is now his last hope.
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