Kano state was in the news the whole of last week over two judgments delivered by two Sharia Court judges. BASHIR MOHAMMED takes a look at the provisions for the judgments and reactions so far.
For blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed
At the time the 22 year-old Kano-based singer, Yahaya Aminu Sherif, allegedly blasphemed the personality of Prophet Mohammed in a derogatory song he sang in public in March this year, hell was almost let loose following attempt by some angry youth to set him ablaze.Sheriff escaped death by whiskers as he was rescued by those who believe that allowing him to go free would only exacerbate the already-tensed situation which every Muslim considers an abomination under Sharia law.The remark went viral on the social media for which angry youths stormed the headquarters of Hisba Board seeking the leadership to take action against Sheriff for the offence he committed so as not to be repeated by anyone.
The board assured the irate youths that no stone would be left unturned in bringing the culprit to book; subsequently, Sherrif was arraigned before an upper Sharia Court judge, Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani in line with the provisions of Sharia law.
After extensive legal deliberations and careful scrutiny about blasphemy, Sherrif was sentenced to death by hanging.It was however the contention of the Sharia court that there is no ambiguity in the way a punishment of such magnitude should be appropriately applied to anyone who commit act of blasphemy as it is explicitly clear in the Quran that any blasphemy against the personality of the holy prophet is punishable with death in accordance with the provision of Sharia law.
For raping a minorAlso like a coincidence, a 60- year-old man, Abdu Mati of Fatsar Village in Tsanyawa local government area of the state was also sentenced to death by stoning having been found guilty by an Upper Sharia Court for having canal knowledge of a 12-year-old minor under a tree, an offence considered to be a clear case of rape committed against the innocent girl.It was also the contention of the presiding judge, Malam Sarki Yola who said that from the incontrovertible evidence before him, a clear case of rape was established against Mati; therefore, he sentenced him to death by stoning in accordance with the provisions of Sharia Penal Code.
ReactionsThe two judgments have generated reactions from the public and a section of Ulama who viewed the verdicts from Islamic point of view. This is regardless of primordial permutations which can create different opinions especially on the side of those who viewed the judgements from the perspective of human rights.
Commenting on the verdict of blasphemy, a Kano- based Islamic scholar, Shiekh Sulieman Salihu Koki, said the judgement passed on the 22-year-old singer is in line with the provision of Sharia law since the law clearly spelt out the kind of punishment to be meted out to anyone who throws caution to the wind in damaging the reputation of the holy prophet.
He noted that it was ridiculous for the singer to forget that as a Muslim, he had no leeway of escape from being sentenced to death, in as much as the offence he committed is beyond any reasonable doubt. He stressed that effecting the death sentence would serve as deterrent to others who think they can blaspheme the prophet of Islam and go free.
“It was just too foolish for the 22-year old singer to compose such a despicable song. it was just too foolish and must be met with the appropriate punishment. We are living in a society where decorum is blatantly ignored. Sherriff must be punish as Islam explicitly prescribed.”I was shocked when I learnt that the personality of the holy prophet was blasphemed. I asked myself if the culprit a true Muslim.
“I want people to understand that sentencing the culprit to death is not an issue that should be debated in the court of public opinion. I am saying this because I know that some pressure groups may like to tinker with the judgment in the aftermath of what had happened. People should steer clear of the judgement effected by the Sharia Court. It is Sharia Law and not Common Law; therefore needs no further debate,” he stressed.
“We should begin to think that the issue of injecting personal opinion into the judgment effected does not arise. No responsible Muslim would derive pleasure in what the 22-year-old Sheriff did in casting a slur on the personality of the holy prophet.
Speaking on the judgment passed on the 60-year-old man who had a canal knowledge of a 12-year-old minor under the shade of a tree, the Islamic scholar maintained that stoning the culprit is what is spelt out in the provision of Sharia legal system.
He said the time has come for those who commit such heinous acts to be punished in order to serve as a deterrent to those who consider rape as a past time, pointing out that with capital punishment of such a scale being applied on rapists, the alarming rate would be reduced to the barest minimum.
He said” I can’t imagine the despicable manner those raping the innocent minors are perpetrating their acts with levity. Our society would continue to remain in disarray once we continue to pay lip service to the inculcation of good virtues in our minds. If we are good to ourselves, God in His infinite wisdom would reward us abundantly.
“Committing abominable crimes on the universe regardless of the inherent implications would be disastrous. One should think that defiling one’s daughter would ultimately leave an indelible scar in her heart throughout her life as a woman. Anytime she remembers that she had once been raped, she would be caught in utter regret,” he retorted.
“It is high time for those in positions of authority to have risen to the crucial challenge of addressing the rot. We should not abandoned the victims to their fate to suffer endless psychological fang. We want our daughters to be adequately protected against the cruel onslaught of those committing the heinous crimes on reason they cannot justify,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, a concerned citizen in Kano, Malam Aminu Idriss Fagge said the two Sharia Courts in Kano had effected the right verdict at the right time by sentencing the two culprits to death one by hanging and the other by stoning. He stressed that the Sharia legal system must be strengthened to wax stronger in a predominantly Muslim state like Kano where the issue of rape has become a common feature in the present time.
According to him, it would not be out of place for the two judgments to be dispensed with since the two courts have legal premise to hear them and sentence the duo to death, stressing that it would be fool hardy for well-informed Muslim to dismiss the two judgments with a wave of the hands.He however stated that committing an act of blasphemy against the personality of the holy prophet could spell a doom for the entire universe for incurring the ire of God.
He pointed out that prosecuting the culprits in Sharia Courts make future offenders to think twice, knowing that they would be sent to the gallows upon being found to have been enmeshed in act of blasphemy or rape of an innocent minor, stressing that allowing the culprit to go unpunished would only encourage willing culprits to tread similar paths.
According to him, his major grouse is all about the way and manner some so-called pressure groups and faceless activists are seeking to meddle in the judgments that did not in any way need their meddlesomeness warning that interfering in the cases could create a wrong precedent that would be difficult to handle.
However, with the two landmark judgments coming at a time when the agitation for death penalty for rapists in Kano reached a fever pitch, in the face of the promise made by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to that effect, citizens of the state are now keeping their fingers crossed as to when the governor would his signature on the death sentence passed on Sheriff and Mati for committing acts punishable with death.
