The High Court of Islamic Law No. 1, in Bauchi State has sent Dr. Idris Abdul’aziz Dutsen Tanshi to prison for ‘contempt of court’ until one month later.
The judge, Malam Hussaini Turaki remanded the Islamic cleric to the correctional facility during a court session today, according to Leadership Hausa.
A copy of the order to remand the Islamic cleric, shows that he was remanded based on ‘contempt of court’.
The jusge said Dr Idris will remain in prison where he will be brough to back to the court on 19th of next month.
The order given by the judge to the prison officer re reads: “You have been given permission to receive him and keep him in custody until another order has been sent to you.”
The judge had on May 31 ordered security personnel to arrest the scholar wherever they saw him as a result of his refusal to appear before the court.
However, at the court session on June 5, the Dr Dutsen Tanshi appeared before the judge where his lawyers presented a medical report stating that he did not come to the court due to an illness he was suffering from.
After his lawyers presented the report, they asked the court to withdraw and rely on the first order that the cleric should be arrested whenever he is seen.
However, the judge adjourned the session until today to decide on the request.
Speaking to journalists after the verdict, one of the lawyers of the scholar, Barrister Kamal A. R Muhammad, said that they are studying the situation in order to take the appropriate action to request the cleric’s freedom.
According to him: “Firstly, the court was brought back to hear our request to dismiss the case because it is our argument that the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case. Secondly, there is our request that the court’s order on the first day to find the Imam and take him into custody because he did not come to court is based on the fact that we have submitted a hospital report that says he is not healthy.
“Before today, we filed an appeal requesting that the case be transferred to another court that has jurisdiction before the judge who has jurisdiction, and the judge said that he will not dismiss the case because he has the jurisdiction to hear this case .”
According to the lawyer, “The current situation is that the judge said that Malam should be sent to prison until the 19th of July 2023.”
Barista Kamal said that there are steps they will take to express their grievances on this issue.
WikkiTimes had earlier reported that police arraigned the cleric before a magistrate court in the state. He was accused of inciting public disturbance. The court imprisoned him for a week.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice, Bauchi State later took charge of the case. The state, however, transferred the case to the Islamic court where he was imprisoned today.
