01 July, 2015

9 people have been sentenced to death in Kano state for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad and that has drawn a public outcry on social media.

The incident occurred in June, and last Thurday, an Upper Shari’a court sentenced them to death.

The Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal, in a statement, said the nine were found guilty under Sections 110 and 382b of the Sharia Penal Court law of 2000.

Reacting to the judgement, many took to Twitter to appeal for the sentence to be overturned.

The #SaveKanoNine hashtag began to trend, with many calling for higher-placed individuals and bodies such as Amnesty International to interfere.

However out of the 9 people sentenced to their deaths, 2 of them have been identified as Abdul-Nyass, the Tijjani preacher primarily accused of the crime, and Hajiya Mairo.

The court had initially said that two people were convicted but a court official, simply identified as Nasir stated that a total of nine people were sentenced.
He also declined to provide the names of the seven others.

A statement by the Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal, signed by one Nasiru, said the 9 persons were found guilty under section 110 and section 382b of the Sharia Penal Court law, year 2000, and confirmed the death sentences passed.

The statement also acknowledged that some Muslim faithful in Kano threatened violence if the accused were set free.

The trial was speedily done in secret after a section of the court was burnt down by angry protesters last month.
It is not known if they will appeal against the sentence.
The alleged offence was committed last month at a religious gathering in honour of Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, the Senegalese founder of the Tijaniya sect, which has a large following across West Africa.

The nine, eight man and a woman, were reported to have said that "Niasse was bigger than Prophet Muhammad", triggering unrest.
The venue was burnt to the ground by an angry mob and the nine were arrested,
"There has been consensus among Muslims scholars that insulting the prophet carries a death sentence," Mr Daurawa said.

"We quickly put them on trial to avoid bloodshed because people were very angry and trying to take law into their hands," he added.

Hundreds of youths had run through the streets of Kano shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and succeeded in setting fire to a part of the Sharia court, before the protest was quelled by law enforcement agents working with the State government.
The court however freed Alkasim Abubakar, Yahya Abubakar, Isa Abubakar, and Abdullahi Abubakar, who were arrested alongside the nine convicted persons.

They were found not guilty by the court.

Sources say that news of the judgment has sparked jubilation by a section of Kano residents.

The Sufi sect of Tijaniya was founded in Algeria in 1784 by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tijani.
It spread all over the world, with large following in north and west Africa. It also has followers in South Africa, Indonesia and other parts of the world.
There are other Sufi sects in Islam but Tijaniya is the largest.
They have three main daily practices: Asking the forgiveness of God; sending prayers to the Prophet Muhammad and affirming the Oneness of Allah.
Senegalese-born Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse was credited with reviving the sect in the 20th Century. People travel from across the continent to visit his shrine.
They have several factions including the Haqiqa (Realist) group, whose leaders were convicted accused of blasphemy in Kano.

Several states in predominantly Muslims northern Nigeria have introduced Sharia law after the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.
This is the first time a death sentence has been handed down for blasphemy in northern Nigeria.
The sentence has been delivered for other offences such as adultery but none has been carried out.


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