Nigeria: nine people sentenced to death for blasphemy

Nine people were sentenced to death for blasphemy on Friday in Kano, northern Nigeria. They are accused of criticizing the Prophet Mohammed at a religious ceremony last month.

Abdul Aminu Nyass, a Sufi preacher and eight of his followers, including a woman, were sentenced to death for blasphemy, Friday, June 26, 2015, the High Court of Sharia in Kano. These nine Nigerians scoop of the death penalty for criticizing the Prophet Mohammed. According to Alhaji Nasuru, court clerk, nine people were "sentenced to death under Sections 110 and 302 of the Criminal Code of the sharia" in force in the north. Four other followers of the preacher were acquitted.
The crowd could decide to take the law itself if released "
The defendants were arrested by police after the comments, handed down last month during a religious ceremony, have led to violence in the city. Riots broke out in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, during the celebrations of the anniversary of the former head of the Sufi brotherhood Tijaniyya Ibrahim Nyass. According TV360, he was accused of having said that the former leader of the Brotherhood Tijaniyya, long dead, was more powerful than the prophet.
"We are pleased that the sharia court has ordered the death penalty for nine people held blasphemous against the prophet," said Aminu Daurawa, the head of the Hisbah, Kano police responsible enforce sharia. This judgment must now be endorsed by the Governor of Kano State.

The trial was held in the greatest secret to avoid reviving tensions in the city. "The crowd could decide to take the law itself if released (...); they would certainly be killed if they appeared on the street, "said Aminu Daurawa.
Twelve states in northern Nigeria have adopted Sharia penal code in parallel in the early 2000. Several death sentences were imposed in the past but no execution has taken place for now.