Kano Sharia Court Sentences Singer To Death Over Blasphemous Song Against Prophet Muhammad

A Sharia court in Kano State has sentenced a musician, Yahaya Sharif Aminu, to death by hanging over one of his songs alleged to be blasphemous against Prophet Muhammad.

KanyiDaily had reported how Aminu was arrested in March 2020 after a protest by Muslims in the state where they threatened to take laws into their hands if the government do not do the needful.

Before the protest, the angry youths had already set ablaze the family house of the musician located at Sharifai quarters in Kano Municipal Local government.

During the trial on Monday, August 10, the presiding Judge, Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani, held that the singer was found guilty of committing blasphemy for a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March.

Mr Sharif-Aminu did not deny the charges leveled against him and the presiding judge said thereafter that he could appeal against the verdict by the court which has sentenced him to death.

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

Reacting to the development, 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.

“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 a secret trial in Kano,” he added.

KanyiDaily recalls that a humanist, Mubarak Bala was also arrested by the police in Kano and issued death threats over a Facebook post said to be insulting and blasphemous against Prophet Muhammad.