The United States government has urged authorities in Nigeria to release a Sufi Muslim singer, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, detained in Kano State since 2020 over blasphemy charges.
It was reported that the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Riley M. Barnes, made the call in his written testimony before the Africa Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. It was a subscription
In the testimony titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt”, Barnes said Washington was pressing Nigerian authorities to release the singer and end the enforcement of blasphemy laws.
“We are actively pressing the Government of Nigeria and calling for the release of Sufi singer, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who sits on death row over blasphemy charges. We continue to urge the government to cease enforcement of blasphemy laws,” he said.
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Barnes said the continued prosecution of people over alleged blasphemy is another troubling situation in Nigeria, adding that individuals get prosecuted over perceived insults to Islam, including peaceful speech.
He noted that Sharia penal codes were enforced in 12 Nigerian states and urged the government to repeal blasphemy laws or, at the minimum, stop enforcing them.Nigeria Travel Guides
Barnes also said the US would continue pressing Nigeria to address attacks and violence, adding that Washington would measure progress by reductions in attacks and violence and by efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.
It would be recalled that the singer (22 years old at that time), was sentenced to death in August 2020 by a Shari’a High Court in Hausawa Filin Hockey, Kano, for releasing a song insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The judge, Khadi Aliyu Muhammad, handed down the sentence after being satisfied with the evidence that the youth had committed the crime that brought him before the court.
Earlier, in March 2020, Kano youths had stormed the Kano Hisbah office and demanded that action be taken against Yahaya Sharif-Aminu for a song he composed, containing alleged derogatory comments attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.
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He was arrested in March 2020 after sharing a song he had composed in a WhatsApp group. The lyrics were considered blasphemous by some members of the Muslim community, and his family home was subsequently burnt by a mob.
However, in January 2021, the Kano State High Court overturned the ruling of the Shariah Court, citing procedural irregularities, including the absence of legal representation during the trial, and ordered a retrial.
The retrial order was upheld by the Court of Appeal in August 2022. Sharif-Aminu subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which allowed his appeal to proceed in September 2025.
His case remains unresolved.
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