I'll Not Hesitate To Sign Death Warrant Against Singer For Blasphemy - Governor Ganduje

Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has expressed his readiness to sign the death sentence judgment on an alleged blasphemy by a 22-year-old Aminu Yahaya Sharif by a Judge of Kano Upper Shari’ah Court.

The Judge, Aliyu Kani, said his judgment was based on Section 382 (b) of Kano Shari’ah Penal Code of 2000.

Ganduje made the statement during a special meeting held at Africa House, Government House, Kano, on Thursday.

He said: “What happened is so important to the state and to the security of the state and the nation in general. What the Court did is absolutely right. And we support it completely. Such kind of irresponsible act, if not because of the state power, nobody could know what would happen in the future."

“The man, who did that, confessed to being a follower of a particular Islamic Sect. But the adherents of that Sect rejected him right away.

"So, we need to understand the importance of this judgment. We are lucky that scholars maintained that it wasn’t a case for a particular sect, but rather of one who just decided to derail.”

According to him, the state government has accepted the death sentence verdict and the rule of law surrounding the case.

He added: “I will not waste time in signing the warrant for the execution of the man, who blasphemed our Holy Prophet of Islam."

Also, he commended how the court handled the case and commended all sections of the society for not fomenting trouble when the case was in the court, adding that, “Our eyes are there following everything bit by bit. We thank Almighty Allah, that the court sitting went on successfully.”

“Lawyers just told us that the case could go up to Supreme Court. So if that happens, I will not waste time in approving the verdict right away. And the second issue is, if the victim did not take up the case to appellate courts, I will not waste time to give the approval for the execution. I will not take more than few minutes to accept the verdict.

Ganduje’s announcement was in the presence of the Commissioner of Police, Director State Security Service, representative of Christian Association of Nigeria, Eze Ndigbo in Kano, Igwe Boniface Ibekwe; representatives of Nigerian Bar Association, representatives of Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, and Comptroller of Kano Correctional Centre among others.

It would be recalled that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano, has been sentenced to death by hanging for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad.

It was further gathered that an upper Sharia court in the Hausawa Filin Hockey area of the state, found 22-year-old Sharif-Aminu guilty of blasphemy in a song that made the rounds on WhatsApp in March.

Sharif-Aminu did not deny the charges.

The singer is currently in detention and had gone into hiding after he composed the song.

Protesters burnt down his family home and gathered outside the headquarters of the Islamic police, known as the Hisbah, to call for his head.

Critics said the song was blasphemous because it praised an imam from the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood and elevated him above the Prophet Muhammad.

One leader of the protesters who called for the musician's arrest in March, Idris Ibrahim, told newsmen that the judgement will serve as a warning to others “contemplating toeing Yahaya's path.

Sharif-Aminu is an Islamic gospel musician. He is not very known in northern Nigeria and his songs were not popular outside his Tjjaniya sect.