An Upper Shari’a Court sitting in Kano has sentenced a 22-year old singer, Yahaya Aminu Sharif, to death by hanging for blaspheming against Prophet Muhammad.
According to reports, the judge, Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani, gave the verdict today August 10 after finding Yahaya Aminu Sharif guilty as charged.
Mr. Sharif who is a member of the Islamic Tijjaniya sect and Faidha group, composed a song blaspheming Prophet Mohammed and circulated it via WhatsApp in March 2020.
Residents of the state got angry when they heard the song and started a protest. They burnt down the singer’s family home and led a procession to the Kano Hisbah Command’s headquarters demanding that he must be tried.
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,” he said.
After several days in the court, the Judge found him guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging. He has 30 days to appeal the judgment.