Nigerians are Saying No to the Death Sentence of Yahaya Aminu Sharif by the Sharia Court

What is the difference between the State and terrorists, if the State is putting a man to death for his (lack of) beliefs?

That is the question Nigerians are asking after 22-year-old Yahaya Aminu Sharif was sentenced to death by the Sharia Court in Kano.

Why?

According to the BBC, Yahaya shared a song on WhatsApp praising an imam with the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood. How was it blasphemous? They say the praises went to the extent of placing the imam above the Prophet Muhammad.

Yahaya had gone into hiding after the song spread, but protesters burned down his family home and then demanded that Hisbah, the Islamic police, arrest him.

Well, Nigerians everywhere are now doing some protesting of their own.

No one, they say, deserves to die because of “blasphemy.” If people are sentenced to death because of what they say about a religion, then what makes the court different from Boko Haram, who also kills in the name of religion?

This is what Nigerians have to say:

Death penalty should NOT be a punishment for renouncing a religion or “blasphemy.” It is an oppressive tool that should not be explored based on religious leanings. The death penalty is a regressive law, against universal human rights and should be abolished. It makes no sense!

— Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi (@AyodejiOsowobi) August 11, 2020

Nothing, and I mean nothing should ever warrant the killing of anyone for anything they’ve said. This is repulsive and regressive. Death sentencing for blasphemy are a human rights violation and the FG must act to stop the sentence from being carried out. https://t.co/TdaYlDOj54

— Fakhrriyyah (@FakhuusHashim) August 10, 2020

The State that does not sentence former Boko Haram fighters who have killed and maimed thousands or at the very least have been accessory to massacres, have no bearing whatsoever on sentencing anyone to death on the grounds of what they’ve said.

— Fakhrriyyah (@FakhuusHashim) August 10, 2020

This is nothing short of extremism of injustice pervaded by those that are supposed to uphold justice in the state. Northern Nigeria must prioritise and focus on issues that affect state development negatively. This isn’t one.

— Fakhrriyyah (@FakhuusHashim) August 10, 2020

If the state is killing you for Blasphemy, what makes them different from terrorists?

— Ayobami (@dondekojo) August 10, 2020

Our society is no doubt a dying one. We are at our lowest ebb. Imagine living in a country where murderous BokoHaram are deemed repentant & granted amnesty while people expressing their constitutionally protected rights to freedom are persecuted & sentence to death for blasphemy! https://t.co/LVzMFGXmsy

— SEGA L'éveilleur®? (@segalink) August 11, 2020

Sentencing people to death for Blasphemy is Terrorism.

A region that has an ISIS and Al-Qaeda problem should not embolden Islamic terrorism.

Secondly, this has legitimised every murder commited by Boko Haram on nonbelievers.

Northern Nigeria is playing with Fire https://t.co/Ef7bHJtvph

— William (@_SirWilliam_) August 10, 2020

Sharia Law should be abolished in Nigeria. No man deserves to die for expressing their opinion. It's so primitive to sentence a whole human life to death cos of blasphemy, all in the name of religion.

— Wale Adetona (@iSlimfit) August 11, 2020

Boko Haram regularly executes musicians and artists for "blasphemy" in the villages they occupy, citing Sharia Law.

I'd love to know how this is not state-sanctioned terrorism.

What is the difference between the Kano State government and Boko Haram?

Please do tell. https://t.co/gSLzjj9E7L

— David Hundeyin? (@DavidHundeyin) August 10, 2020