An Upper Sharia’s Court sitting at Kofa Kudu in Kano has sentenced a cleric, Abdulmalik Rabiu, to one month imprisonment for engaging in indecent communication with a married woman.
The case followed a complaint lodged with the police by the woman’s husband, after which the suspect, a resident of Maraba in Nasarawa State, was arrested and arraigned before the court presided over by Judge Ibrahim Sarki Yola
During the hearing, the prosecution, led by Nafi’u Kabir, informed the court that the defendant sent explicit messages, nude images and videos to the married woman.
Rabiu pleaded guilty to the offence and admitted that the woman had informed him she was married.
Defence counsel pleaded for leniency, noting that the defendant is an Islamic cleric in Abuja who teaches over 1,000 students.
Delivering judgment, the court held that the conviction was based on the defendant’s voluntary confession.
Although the offence attracts up to one year imprisonment, 40 lashes and a fine, the court reduced the sentence to one month imprisonment without an option of fine after considering the plea for mitigation.