Democracy watchdogs would like to see a change in the freedom of expression landscape that was severely constrained during Nigerian President Buhari's leadership.
The MFWA has submitted an amicus curiae petition to Nigeria's Supreme Court in support of musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who is appealing his death sentence in a blasphemy case.
The Court of Appeal in Kano has upheld the judgement of the Kano High Court (Appeal Division), ordering the retrial of a 22-year-old musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 after being convicted of blasphemy by an upper Sharia court presided over by Muhammad Aliyu Kani in the state. He was accused of one count of insulting the religious creed, contrary to Section 382 (6) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, for a series of audio messages circulated via WhatsApp which became public knowledge in March 2020.
The Court of Appeal in Kano will on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, deliver judgement on the appeal filed by 22-year-old musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 after being convicted of blasphemy. Sharif-Aminu belongs to the Tijaniyya order, a popular Sufi Islamic order across North and West Africa. He was accused of one count of insulting the religious creed, contrary to Section 382 (6) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, for a series of audio messages circulated via WhatsApp which became public knowledge in March 2020.
The death sentence was passed on Sharif-Aminu by a Sharia court, which was overturned by a high court. It, however, denied the musician bail and ordered his re-trial before another Shari’a court judge due to irregularities in the original trial.