Blasphemy: US demands release of Sufi singer Sharif-Aminu in Kano

The United States has demanded the release of Sufi singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who is facing execution on death row over blasphemy charges.

Hon. Riley Barnes disclosed this during a hearing organised by the Africa Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.

According to Barnes, the US government was engaging the Nigerian authorities and reaching out to Sharif-Aminu’s relatives while urging Nigeria to move away from its blasphemy laws.

He, however, stressed that the US government’s primary objective remained to end attacks and violence in Nigeria.

“We are actively pressing the Nigerian government and calling the relatives of Sufi singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who sits on death row over blasphemy charges.

“We continue to urge the government to cease enforcing blasphemy laws, but our chief goal remains to end the attacks and violence.

“The US has made it clear that the measure of success will be fewer attacks and less violence,” Barnes said.

Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was arrested in March 2020 after sharing song lyrics he had written via WhatsApp.

His lyrics were deemed “blasphemous,” and a mob subsequently burned down his family’s home.

He was convicted by a Sharia court in Kano State in a rushed trial without legal representation, and sentenced to death by hanging in August 2020.