The Nigerian musician was sentenced to death in 2020 for sharing a profanity message on whatsapp. He is challenging the blasphemy law at the Nigerian Supreme Court.
Yahaya Sharif Aminu petitioned the Nigerian Supreme Court to declare Kano State law on the unconstitutionality of the blasphemous Asp Expanding. Through his lawyer, Kora Arapinni, Aminu was brought to trial and challenged his beliefs without legal representation and when he was sentenced.
“Yahaya’s treatment violates both the Nigerian constitution and international law,” Arapinni said. “No one should be sentenced to death for expressing his religious views freely. We are working to ensure that Yahaya has been released and that the laws of the explanatory ASP have ended. That cannot bear it.”
Aminu was originally convicted in August 2020 in Sharia (Islamic Law) Court of sharing lyrics that contained a sloppy section. The conviction was overturned due to procedural irregularities, including lack of expression. Aminu’s legal team argued that the case should be dismissed, but the appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the blasphemous law while ordering a retrial of Aminu.
In addition to the infamous federal laws against Nigeria’s blasphemy, 12 states in northern Nigeria, including Kano State, have strict Sharia laws in which Christians and Muslims have been arrested, tried and convicted on charges of blasphemy against Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.
Some victims have been lynched by the public on the blasphemous Asp allegations, despite the Supreme Court ruled that all claims must be proven in court. On August 30, a Muslim woman was lynched in Niger by a mob who accused her of blaspheming her after a random conversation between the woman and her nephew. The exact statement deemed to be blasphemous has not yet been decided.
One of the most widely known cases is that of Deborah Samuel Yakub, a student at the Christian University of Sokoto. In May 2022, she was stoned and burned by a mob of Muslim students after being accused of a blasphemous asp in WhatsApp group.
Sean Nelson, global religious freedom lawyer at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, said the Nigerian judicial system should protect those who peacefully express their faith that “death cannot punish them.” Nelson thought that the apex court would overturn the law of the blasphemous asp, which “targeted him and put many others at risk.”
The incident has attracted global attention, and the European Parliament has reiterated its previous calls for the release of Sharif Aminu, whose health has failed and his family is harassing. The February resolution called for a “immediate and unconditional release” of Sharif-Aminu.
“The blasphemous law clearly violates international rights and obligations, particularly international contracts on civil and political rights, and violates the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and expression,” the European Parliament said.
In April, the economic community of the West African Countries (ECOWAS) Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling in the Criminal Law of Kano and Sharia Criminal Law Act (2000) with certain Bloody Asp clauses declared international human rights standards, particularly certain Bloody Asp clauses that are incompatible with the rights of freedom of expression. The court has required Nigeria to abolish or amend these and similar laws to match them with their international obligations.
