Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Thursday granted permission for lawyers representing Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, to file an appeal outside the statutory timeframe, the court said.If You’re Reading From Phoenix Click On Read Original at the top To Read Full Article
Sharif-Aminu was convicted in 2020 by a Kano State sharia court for allegedly making blasphemous remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. His legal team told the Supreme Court the trial was flawed and that they were denied adequate time and legal representation during key stages of the proceedings.
“We received only one day’s notice before the judgment, which was delivered via Zoom. We needed time to properly study it before filing our appeal,” said Kola Alapinni, one of Sharif-Aminu’s lawyers. The court granted the extension and ordered an accelerated hearing; the defence said it would file the appeal next week.
The defence also challenged the constitutionality of sections of Kano State’s sharia law that prescribe capital punishment and amputation, arguing those provisions conflict with Nigeria’s secular constitution and fundamental rights guarantees.
Lamido Abba Sorondinki, counsel for the Kano State government, defended the original verdict. “This applicant made blasphemous statements against the Holy Prophet, which the government of Kano State will not condone,” he told reporters.
He added that if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s decision, the state would carry out the sentence publicly.
The case has attracted national and international attention, highlighting the tension between state-level implementation of Islamic law and the protections afforded by Nigeria’s federal constitution.
Human rights groups and legal observers have repeatedly urged careful judicial scrutiny in matters that carry the death penalty.
By allowing the late appeal and accelerating the hearing schedule, the Supreme Court has set the stage for a potentially significant legal review that could clarify the interaction between sharia provisions at the state level and constitutional safeguards at the federal level.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
