The European Parliament has again demanded the release of a young Sufi Nigerian musician imprisoned for blasphemy, with advocates calling its second resolution on the case a “rare” move. Lawmakers urged Nigeria to free him immediately and repeal the blasphemy laws underpinning his detention.
The musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, is facing the death penalty for allegedly circulating song lyrics deemed blasphemous under Kano state’s blasphemy laws. Members of the European Parliament asked for his “immediate and unconditional release” in a second urgency resolution passed by an overwhelming majority, reports the legal advocacy group ADF International.
The lawmakers’ first resolution in the case occurred in April 2023, urging Nigerian officials to withdraw the charges. They have passed another measure to ensure that “no individuals, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere, should be potentially subjected to the death penalty for allegations of blasphemy.”
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They also cited the musician’s upcoming Supreme Court challenge, which aims to abolish Sharia-based statutes that can lead to capital punishment for purportedly offensive religious expression. Blasphemy laws “systematically endanger religious minorities, violate fundamental freedoms and fuel sectarian violence,” they said.
“We applaud the European Parliament’s condemnation of the egregious blasphemy laws that plague religious minorities in Nigeria, as tragically exemplified by what has happened to Yahaya Sharif-Aminu,” Sean Nelson, legal counsel for ADF International, said in a statement.
“This case has unprecedented potential to eliminate Northern Nigeria’s oppressive blasphemy laws, and we will continue to seek justice for Yahaya and others who are unjustly persecuted for their faith expression. No person should be sentenced to death for peaceful religious expression, and we are thankful to Members of the European Parliament who are speaking out on Yahaya’s behalf.”
Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism, is a minority faith in Nigeria. However, people from the Sufi faith are often persecuted in Muslim-majority countries and regions.
ADF International said this case could overturn the oppressive blasphemy laws in northern Nigeria.
“It is plainly unjust that this young man languishes in prison merely for song lyrics,” said Kola Alapinni, international human rights lawyer and lawyer for Sharif-Aminu.
The U.K. Parliament has designated Sharif-Aminu as a prisoner of conscience for the month. The resolution referred to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which previously criticized the musician’s continued imprisonment for five years.
A member of the European Parliament, Miriam Lexmann, noted, “Nigeria has still not released him, even after multiple high-level international condemnations.”
Yahaya was convicted without a lawyer and sentenced to death on Aug. 10, 2020, by the Hausawa Filin Hockey upper-Sharia court. He was initially sentenced to death, then granted an appeal that overturned the conviction. However, he was sent back for a retrial under the same statute, which can still impose capital punishment.
Members of the European Parliament expressed satisfaction at a separate verdict in December 2024, when a Christian mother of five was fully acquitted of blasphemy after a prolonged legal ordeal. She had been charged for allegedly sharing a message that condemned a fatal mob attack on Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Nigerian university student.
