Abubakar Usman Mabera, chairman of Sokoto state Ulama forum
of Izala, says any Muslim lawyer who defends Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician
sentenced to death in Kano state, has renounced Islam.
Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by hanging on August 10
after he was found guilty of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
The development stirred an outcry
among many Nigerians.
Despite the public outcry, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah
in Nigeria asked Kano state government to execute the court judgment.
In response, Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, said he
would not hesitate to sign Sharif-Aminu’s death warrant if he failed to file an
appeal within 30 days.
The convict has however appealed against the court’s
decision.
Mabera, while speaking in Sokoto at the weekend, said
blasphemy is a capital offence in Islam of which punishment is death, and that
since a competent court has found the singer guilty, he cannot be pardoned.
He asked Muslim lawyers to be careful in defending the
convict, adding that “any lawyer who comes out to defend him has renounced his
Islamic faith”.
The cleric also asked the Muslim faithful to seek God’s
forgiveness because the prevailing setbacks in the country are signs of
wrongdoing.
”For all indications, God is not happy with us and we have
to repent because he alone is the answer to our woes,” he said.
In a statement on Thursday, the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA) said Sharif-Aminu was not represented by a lawyer during the trial at the
Upper Sharia Court and that he has been denied access to any lawyer since his
conviction.
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