The death sentence was passed on Sharif-Aminu by a Sharia court, which was overturned by a high court. It, however, denied the musician bail and ordered his re-trial before another Shari’a court judge due to irregularities in the original trial.
An appeal court in Kano State has delayed judgement in the trial of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 after being convicted of blasphemy.
The death sentence was passed on Sharif-Aminu by a Sharia court, which was overturned by a high court. It, however, denied the musician bail and ordered his re-trial before another Shari’a court judge due to irregularities in the original trial.
The musician further approached the appeal court to overturn an order for his retrial for blasphemy. His lawyer argued that he ought to be released from detention.
During the court proceeding on Thursday, counsel for the state, Mohammed Sani Ahmed, argued that the high court was right in its ruling and prayed the court to dismiss the singer’s appeal.
However, Sharif-Aminu's counsel, Kola Alapinni, prayed the appellate court to void the high court’s ruling and order the release of the musician.
After hearing arguments from both parties in the case, the court ruled that it will reserve its judgement. However, it is uncertain when the case will come up.
One of Sharif-Aminu's lawyers, Ebuka Ikeorah told BBC that the legal team believes the musician would be released by the court.
“Aminu was sentenced to death by the Sharia Court and we took the matter to the high court which vacated the order.
“The high court ordered a retrial in the same Sharia court but before another judge, this is what we are fighting against.
“What this reserved judgement means is that the court would call us to deliver its verdict on the matter,” he said.
The court is expected to deliver its judgement on the matter within the next 90 days.
Sharif-Aminu, who belongs to the Tijaniyya order, a popular Sufi Islamic order across North and West Africa was accused of one count of insulting the religious creed, contrary to Section 382 (6) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, for a series of audio messages circulated via WhatsApp.
His messages allegedly praised an imam from the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood (Ibrahim Niasse) and elevated him above the Prophet Muhammed.