US Sends Major Message to Nigeria Over Prominent Arewa Musician on Death Row
- The United States raised the case of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu at a hearing held by the Africa Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee
- US representative Riley Barnes said the government was contacting Sharif-Aminu's relatives while pressing Nigerian authorities over blasphemy laws
- Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by hanging in August 2020 by a Kano Shari'a court over a song he shared on WhatsApp
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering governance in Nigeria and worldwide.
Kano, Kano State - The United States government has demanded the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi singer from Kano State currently on death row after being convicted of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
As reported by The Guardian, the demand was made on Thursday, November 12, by Riley Barnes during a hearing convened by the Africa Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. Barnes stated that the US was directly engaging the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government and reaching out to Sharif-Aminu's family members, while also calling on Nigerian authorities to stop enforcing blasphemy laws.
Source: Twitter
Barnes said:
"We are actively pressing the Nigerian government and calling the relatives of Sufi singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who sits on death row over blasphemy charges."
He added:
"We continue to urge the government to cease enforcing blasphemy laws, but our chief goal remains to end the attacks and violence. The US has made it clear that the measure of success will be fewer attacks and less violence."
Source: Original
How Sharif-Aminu ended up on death row
The case dates back to March 2020, when Sharif-Aminu, then 22 years old and a resident of Sharifai quarters in Kano municipal, shared a song via WhatsApp that was deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad. The content of the song became widely known on March 4, 2020, after hundreds of youths marched on the Kano Hisbah board headquarters to protest what they described as an attack on the Prophet. The angry crowd later burnt down the singer's family home after he went into hiding.
In August 2020, an Upper Shari'a Court sitting at Hausawa Quarters in Kano sentenced Sharif-Aminu to death by hanging. The court's Khadi, Aliyu Muhammad Kani, found him guilty on a one-count charge of making a derogatory comment about the Prophet in the song.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has pledged to follow the appeal filed by Sharif-Aminu as the case continues to draw international attention, The Punch noted.
Watch the video of US official Riley Barnes below, shared via the X post:
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US sends fresh message to Nigerians on visa
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the US renewed its call for lawful travel practices, highlighting that visa overstays by Nigerian travellers can have wider consequences for future applicants.
In a statement shared on its official X handle, the mission stressed that compliance with U.S. immigration rules is vital to maintaining fair and open access for legitimate travellers.
Source: Legit.ng
