Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Nigerian who faced the death penalty under a Sharia court for writing and posting an allegedly blasphemous song online, is headed to a Nigerian Supreme Court hearing. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a Christian legal organization which is defending the singer in his retrial, says the case could “set a precedent for the entire country” and be an example for other international courts.
Only seven countries have laws that allow death penalties for crimes deemed blasphemy. Nigeria’s death penalty law has affected Christians, Muslims and minority religions across Nigeria’s 12 states, primarily in northern Nigeria.
The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 25. Authorities arrested Sharif-Aminu in 2020 for posting a song on WhatsApp with lyrics deemed “blasphemous” against Muhammad. A mob burned the 22-year-old’s house before Upper the Sharia Court in Nigeria’s Kano state sentenced him to death by hanging. The conviction was overturned January 2021 due to procedural flaws. Eventually, a retrial was ordered, and an appellate court then ruled to uphold the retrial. Shaif-Aminu then appealed to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“This case goes beyond one young man. It is about whether millions of Nigerians can live free from fear under unjust blasphemy laws,” said Sean Nelson, legal counsel for Global Religious Freedom at ADF International. “We pray that out of Yahaya’s case, we will ultimately see an end to these draconian blasphemy laws and improved protections for religious minorities, including Christians and others, in Nigeria.”
The appeal demands the freeing of Sharif-Aminu and the state’s death penalty blasphemy law to be deemed unconstitutional.
“It is our hope that the Supreme Court will deliver justice to this young man,” said Kola Alapinni, international human rights lawyer and legal counsel for Yahaya Sharif-Aminu. “For far too long, blasphemy laws have wrongfully been used to persecute and harm religious minorities. It is time for the court to make a decision that upholds the right to religious freedom in Nigeria.”
The case has received international attention. In May 2024, the UN supported Sharif-Aminu and urged the Nigerian Supreme Court to “consider Mr. Sharif-Aminu’s case as a priority, and to urgently adopt a decision taking into consideration Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights law.”
ADF International also defended Rhoda Jatau, a Nigerian Chrisitan mother of five. She was jailed for 19 months for posting a video on WhatsApp in which she criticized the stoning of Deborah Emmanuel Yakuba, a Christian college student who refused to date a Muslim. She was accused of blasphemy for her rejection, and a mob stoned her to death before burning her body.
Prior to Biden administration in 2021, the U.S. State Department had designated Nigeria a County of Particular Concern (CPC) for the thousands of Christians killed by Muslim extremists over the last two decades. Religious freedom watchdog groups, as well as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, have called for the Trump administration to return the CDC designation to Nigeria in hope the government there would do more to curb what many have labeled a genocide against Christians.
