Although he denies the accusations, a Sharia court in the northern Nigerian state of Kano has sentenced a well-known Islamic cleric to death by hanging after finding him guilty of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and incitement in some of his sermons.
Authorities have been holding Sheikh Abduljabar Nasir Kabara since July of last year after accusing him of spreading falsehoods about the Prophet.
Nigerians are closely following the trial. Twelve states in northern Nigeria, including Kano, practise Sharia alongside the nation’s secular law.
The 52-year-old scholar is from the Qadiriyya sect. He has a sizeable number of followers mainly in Kano state.
His father was the leader of the sect in West Africa until his death in 1996.
Sheikh Abduljabar has the right to appeal against the judgement.
Death sentences in Nigeria are rarely carried out. Instead, convicted people are usually kept in prisons indefinitely.