Originally published in The Christian Post
A man sentenced to death for sharing song lyrics on WhatsApp is finally getting a hearing at Nigeria’s Supreme Court. He has spent more than five years in prison awaiting justice.
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The court will hear the case of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim from Kano State, on September 25. The ruling in this case could affect the legality of blasphemy laws in Nigeria, according to the human rights group ADF International, which is supporting the man’s case.
His legal team is asking the court not only to overturn the retrial order but to strike down Kano State’s death penalty provision for blasphemy as unconstitutional.
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Sharif-Aminu was arrested in March 2020 after sharing song lyrics on WhatsApp that some considered blasphemous.
Sharif-Aminu’s conviction by a Sharia court that year sparked widespread criticism after it emerged that he was tried without a lawyer. Although the Kano State High Court overturned that ruling in 2021 due to procedural violations, it ordered a retrial under the same law, which still carries the death penalty.
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The appellate court upheld the retrial in 2022, after which Sharif-Aminu filed his appeal with the Supreme Court. His legal counsel is arguing that the blasphemy law violates Nigeria’s Constitution and the country’s international obligations on freedom of expression and religion.
“This case goes beyond one young man,” said Sean Nelson, Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom at ADF International. “It is about whether millions of Nigerians can live free from fear under unjust blasphemy laws.”
Calls for Sharif-Aminu’s release have intensified internationally.
In May 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Sharif-Aminu’s imprisonment a violation of international human rights. The U.N. said his rights to freedom of religion, expression and fair trial had been breached and called for his release.
Three UN special rapporteurs — Alexandra Xanthaki, Nazila Ghanea and Irene Khan — issued a joint statement the same month, urging Nigeria to abolish the death penalty for blasphemy. They cited Sharif-Aminu’s case as an example of laws being misused to target religious minorities, UN News reported.
In April 2023, the European Parliament passed an urgent resolution urging Nigeria to repeal its blasphemy laws and release him immediately. A second resolution in February 2025 reaffirmed this demand, condemning the law and urging Nigeria to lead efforts to abolish such laws globally.
In the days following Sharif-Aminu’s post in 2020, a mob burned down his family’s home. A few months later, a Sharia court sentenced him to death by hanging.
His lawyer, Kola Alapinni, said the law has long been used to persecute minorities and that the court now has a chance to deliver justice.
ADF International’s Kelsey Zorzi said: “Yahaya has languished in prison for more than five years over nothing more than a WhatsApp message.”
Sharif-Aminu remains in detention.
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