Popular northern musician in trouble after singing… sentenced to death over blasphemy

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.

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

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

Death sentences are rare in northern Nigeria, where Sharia law is implemented alongside secular law in most states, according to the BBC’s Mansur Abubakar in Kano.

The song he released was viewed as completely acceptable by some fellow followers of the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood but critics said it was blasphemous, as it praised an imam to the extent it elevated him above the Prophet Muhammad.

Leave a Reply