The Court of Appeal in Kano has postponed the hearing in the case of a blasphemy case against 22-year-old Yahaya Sharif-Aminu till May 12 after the Kano State government’s request on Thursday for more time to file its response to Sharif-Aminu’s appeal.
The state government had already delayed its response for almost 11 months since March last year after the appellant presented his brief of argument.
The Kano State governor and the state’s attorney-general both represented by Sani Ahmad who arrived last minute at the court to secure an opportunity to file their response to counter the appellant’s case.
Sharif-Aminu was freed of the death penalty last year after he was arrested and charged with blaspheming the prophet of Islam with his song he circulated via WhatsApp messenger application back in March 2020.
On August 11, 2020, a Sharia court at a Kano Upper Area Court sentenced him to death for the alleged offence of Section 382 (B) of the Sharia Penal Code Law of Kano 2000 despite the absence of Sharif-Aminu’s legal representative.
After a legal battle at the appellate division of the Kano State High Court, two judges presiding over the appeal unanimously ruled that the trial at the Upper Area Court was characterised by procedural irregularities on January 21, 2021, prompting a retrial.
In an attempt to quash the High Court’s order for his retrial, Sharif-Aminu and his legal team led by Kola Alapinni filed two grounds of notice of appeal against the High Court’s judgement in January 2021.
