Oyogist.com has learned that Kano State government had organised a public debate for Abduljabbar Kabara to enable him defend his alleged blasphemous comments.
The state government had on February 4 banned Mr Kabara from public preaching following his alleged derogatory comments against Prophet Muhammad’s companions.
Abduljabbarr Kabara, on Saturday appeared in a public debate organised by the Kano State government for him to defend his comments.
But Mr Kabara refused to answer questions from his opponents, despite being the one who requested the public debate.
The moderator, Salisu Shehu, a professor of Islamic Studies, ruled that Mr Kabara “consistently strayed off the topic of discussion and avoided answering questions asked him.
”Mr Shehu ruled the cleric’s earlier comments on Prophet Muhammad’s companions “were his personal opinion, not part of Islamic teaching” as he claimed.
On every topic raised, Mr Kabara dodged questions and refused to open a book in his posession to clarify comments he made, citing short timing and not being fully prepared for the discussion, the judge said.
Mr Kabara also blamed the guidelines and time frame of the debate on his reasons for not responding.
He claimed that 10 minutes given by the moderator were not enough for him to respond adequately and that he needed more time to prepare himself.
After the debate, the state Commissioner for Religion Affairs, Muhammad Tahar, said he would present the report to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for appropriate action.
