In what appears the final verdict in the debate between Sheikh Abduljabbar Kabara and the Ulama, the judge, Professor Salisu Shehu, declared at the end of the debate that the sheikh avoided all the questions raised.
It will be recalled that the long-awaited debate had become a subject of legal battles and suffered a series of adjournments before the statement government finally fixed July 10.
At the end of the debate on Saturday, the presiding judge, after hearing from both sides declared that Mr Kabara beat around the bush and evaded questions raised.
“At any point, Mallam Abdujabbar dodged all the questions raised without giving an answer,” the judge declared.
“At first he said there was no enough time. The second issue he raised was that one topic should be addressed before jumping to another, while he was actually the one who jumped from one topic to another without addressing the questions raised.
“Once a question is raised and he is requested to provide reference from his books, he would complain that there is no enough time for that.”
In his response after the debate, Mr Kabara faulted the guidelines of the debate, saying he would have made his input if he knew the guidelines before the debate.
“The problem is that they did not give me the guidelines in advance. I advised that the topics should be debated a-piece, and that enough time be given to us.
“Our aim is not just to win an argument, but to find the truth. Our hope is to have a successful debate, and my hope is for us to be on the righteous path in our religion,” Mr Kabara said.
On February 4, the state government the ordered the closure of the cleric’s mosque and house, located at Gwale Local Government in the Kano metropolis.
The order was given “in order to maintain peace in the state following the allegations that the preacher insults the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad” in his religious commentaries.
Following the decision, heavily armed security personnel, including operatives of the State Security Services, were sighted at both the mosque and his residence to ensure compliance to the order.
Mr Kabara, a factional leader Qadiriyya sect in Kano, is famous for controversial religious commentaries, and has been accused of insulting the companions of Holy Prophet Muhammad.
The cleric has been at dagger-drawn with Sunni Muslim clerics in the state for a long time for his hardline stance against Sunni practices and his subscription to Shiite practices.
