European Parliament Demands Release of Kano Musician About to Be Executed Over A Song

 

The Nigerian government has been asked to release a Nigerian Sufi musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu accused of blasphemy over a song about Prophet Mohammed.

 

The European Parliament made the call for his immediate release on X.

 

The EU Parliament’s freedom of religion group, EU FORB Intergroup posted the demand in a post on its official X handle.

 

According to the post, a government lawyer (Name withheld) recently threatened to hang the young man, who sang and shared lyrics of his song about the Prophet Muhammad on a Whatsapp group.

“Our call as Intergroup FORB: release him! Yahaya’s case has been on our radar for years”, part of the post read.

 

The group further revealed that the European Parliament had “previously issued two resolutions calling on Nigeria to abandon the death penalty and release him immediately, the latest from February 2025. We therefore necessarily reiterate our call”!

 

Similarly, an opinion article published on a US platform, NEWSWEEK by a Global Religious Freedom fighter, Sean Nelson, quoted an alleged Kano government lawyer as saying, “This man will be executed.”

 

According to Reuters, Nigeria’s Supreme Court recently granted lawyers representing Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, permission to file an appeal outside the legally prescribed timeframe.

 

In February 2020, Yahaya, a Kano State resident, shared lyrics of a song he had composed related to his faith in a private WhatsApp group, triggering anger.