A Shariah Court in Kano State in northern Nigeria has sentenced a musician to death for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The Kano Upper Shari’a Court sitting at Hausawa Filin Hockey sentenced 22-year-old Yahaya Sharif to death by hanging.
The report by Channels Television Station on Tuesday said that the judge, Aliyu Kani, gave the verdict on Monday after finding Sharif guilty as charged in accordance with Section 382 (b) of the Kano State penal code of 2000.
The report added that Sharif, a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against the prophet of Islam in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020.
Following the incident, protesters burnt down the singer’s family home and led a procession to the Kano Hisbah command’s headquarters.
The Hisbah is a Kano State-owned security outfit that enforces the Shariah law in the highly conservative northern Nigerian Kano State.
According to the report, Sharif’s father, Aminu Sharif, had disowned him, saying he was not living at his house when he committed the crime and that he did not share his son’s religious views.
“I want to categorically inform the general public that blasphemy is not my ideology, and I promise to arrest him (my son) and hand him over to security agents whenever he is found.
“If I had the authority to punish him by law, I will do that right away,” Aminu Sharif had said of his son.
However, Sharif has 30 days to appeal the judgment.
Meanwhile, many Nigerians have reacted to the judgment which sentenced Sharif to death by hanging for blasphemy.
The report said thousands of Nigerians trooped to social media to express their opinions on the judgment. A Twitter user @FakhuusHashim said nothing should warrant the killing of any Nigerian for what they have said.
“Nothing, and I mean nothing should ever warrant the killing of anyone for anything they’ve said. This is repulsive and regressive. Death sentencing for blasphemy are a human rights violation and the Federal Government must act to stop the sentence from being carried out.”
Another user, YOjora, said Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria affects only the poor and enemies of the powerful.
“Sharia law in northern Nigeria never affects the rich, only the poor and political enemies of the powerful. There’s a video of a certain person packing dollars, I wonder why he hasn’t lost his hands.”
A journalist, David Hundeyin, described the judgment as “state-sanctioned terrorism.”
“Boko Haram regularly executes musicians and artists for “blasphemy” in the villages they occupy, citing Sharia Law. I’d love to know how this is not state-sanctioned terrorism. What is the difference between the Kano State government and Boko Haram? Please do tell.”
The West African coordinator of the Afro Arab Youth Council, Bello Shagari, said no muslim has the moral right to react angrily to blasphemy.
“No Muslim has the moral right to react angrily to blasphemy; that doesn’t mean one cannot be angry. Meanwhile, the sharia law on blasphemy cannot be done to a non Muslim. It is only applicable to Muslims, who commit a ‘certain degree’ of blasphemy in a circular state.”
GIK/APA