Nigerian sharia court sentences singer to death for blasphemy

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria on Monday sentenced a singer to death for blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, judicial officials said.

An Upper Islamic Sharia court in the city of Kano ordered 22-year-old Yahaya Aminu Sharif to die by hanging for derogatory expressions against the Prophet in one of his songs, spokesman for the Kano region justice ministry, Baba-Jibo Ibrahim, told AFP.

Sharia courts in majority Muslim northern Nigeria have handed down death sentences for adultery, murder and homosexuality before but to date no executions have been carried out.

"The court handed down the death sentence as enshrined in Islamic laws based on irrefutable evidence and the convict's admission of guilt," Ibrahim said.

Sharif was accused of blaspheming the Prophet in a song he shared on social media in March, which caused riots in the city.

Mobs burnt the singer's family home and took to the streets demanding his prosecution, leading to his arrest.

Ibrahim said Sharif had legal representation during the four-month trial which was held behind closed doors for security reasons.

Sharif, a Muslim singer, belongs to a separate branch of Tijaniyya Sufi order, whose beliefs are considered heretical because of their different interpretation of some basic Islamic principles.

His conviction is the second death sentence to be passed for blasphemy since around a dozen states in the north reintroduced a stricter version of Sharia law in early 2000s, where Sharia courts run parallel to state and federal justice system.

Abdul Nyass, a Sufi Muslim cleric, was sentenced to death in 2015 by a Kano Sharia court for blasphemy against the Prophet in his preachings.

Nyass drew public outrage when he made derogatory remarks against the Prophet before a gathering of disciples as they marked the birthday of the former leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, Ibrahim Nyass.

Nyass is also a member of the Tijjaniyya Sufi order.

The same court on Monday sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Umar farouk, to 10 years in prison with menial labour for blasphemy, judicial official Ibrahim said.

He said Farouk was found guilty of using foul language against God during an argument with a friend.

"The court considered the boy's age as a minor and sentenced him to 10-year jail term as a penitence and to make him reform," he said.

Both convicts have one month to appeal the sentences.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, August 10, 2020

Nigerian singer sentenced to death for blasphemy in Kano state

A musician in Nigeria's northern state of Kano has been sentenced to death by hanging for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad.

An upper Sharia court in the Hausawa Filin Hockey area of the state said Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, 22, was guilty of committing blasphemy for a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March.

Mr Sharif-Aminu did not deny the charges.

Judge Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani said he could appeal against the verdict.

States across Muslim-majority northern Nigeria use both secular law and Sharia law, which does not apply to non-Muslims.

Only one of the death sentences passed by Nigeria's Sharia courts has been carried out since they were reintroduced in 1999.

The singer who is currently in detention, had gone into hiding after he composed the song.

Protesters had burnt down his family home and gathered outside the headquarters of the Islamic police, known as the Hisbah, demanding action against him.

Critics said the song was blasphemous as it praised an imam from the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood to the extent it elevated him above the Prophet Muhammad.

'Judgement will serve as deterrent to others'

The leader of the protesters that called for the musician's arrest in March, Idris Ibrahim, told the BBC that the judgement will serve as a warning to others "contemplating toeing Yahaya's path"."When I heard about the judgment I was so happy because it showed our protest wasn't in vain.

"This [judgement] will serve as a deterrent to others who feel they could insult our religion or prophet and go scot-free," he said.

Who is Yahaya Sharif-Aminu?

Few people had heard of him before his arrest in March.

An Islamic gospel musician, he is not well-known in northern Nigeria and his songs were not popular outside his Tjjaniya sect, who have many such musicians within their ranks.

How common are death sentences in Sharia courts?

Several sentences have been passed, including for women convicted of having extramarital sex - cases which have caused widespread condemnation.

But only one has been carried out - a man convicted of killing a woman and her two children who was hanged in 2002.

The last time a Nigerian Sharia court passed a death sentence was in 2016 when Abdulazeez Inyass, was sentenced to death for blaspheming against Islam during after a secret trial in Kano.

He was alleged to have said that Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, the Senegalese founder of the Tijaniya sect, which has a large following across West Africa, "was bigger than Prophet Muhammad".

The sentence has not been carried out as a death penalty in Nigeria requires the sign-off of the state governor.

Mr Inyass is still in detention.

How Nigeria's Sharia courts work

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC News, Kano

Twelve states in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north operate the Sharia system of justice, but only Muslims can be tried in its courts.

The Sharia system, which also has its own Court of Appeal, handles both civil and criminal matters involving Muslims and its judgements can also be challenged in Nigeria's secular Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The Sharia judges, known as alkalis, are learned in both Islamic and secular laws.

If a case involves a Muslim and a non-Muslim, the non-Muslim has the option of choosing where they want the case to be tried. The Sharia court can only hear the case if the non-Muslim gives written consent.

Sentences handed down by the courts include floggings, amputations and the death penalty.

Source: BBC News, Staff, August 10, 2020

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