Prominent Nigerian activist and news publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has issued a forceful demand for the swift release of the detained Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara. Sowore framed the cleric’s ongoing imprisonment as a clear instance of “religious persecution by Kano State authorities.”
Writing on his official social media platform, on the 16th of November, 2025, he confirmed his efforts to visit Sheikh Kabara in custody, stating he was deeply unsettled by the circumstances surrounding the detention.
He articulated his distress, stating, “It is heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable that a religious scholar remains behind bars simply because his teachings or interpretations differ from those preferred by those in power in Kano State,” he wrote.
Sheikh Kabara was condemned to death by hanging on the 15th of December, 2022, by Malam Ibrahim Sarki Yola, who presided over an Upper Shari’a Court in Kano. The conviction was based on charges of blasphemy.
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The Kano State Government had formally charged the cleric with four counts relating to alleged blasphemous remarks concerning Prophet Muhammad SAW, made during public discourses on August 10, October 25, and December 20, 2019.
Sowore asserted that the Nigerian state must cease actions designed to crush differing religious viewpoints. “The era of religious persecution in Nigeria must end now,” he said.
He appealed directly to federal government bodies and international human rights watchdogs to intervene in the case. Furthermore, Sowore cautioned that the protracted detention of Kabara erodes Nigeria’s dedication to justice and the fundamental right to freedom of expression. He emphasized that “no democracy survives when the state decides which religious opinions are permissible.”