Abdul-Inyas, Hajiya Mairo and seven others has been sentenced to death for blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam by an Upper Sharia Court, Rijiyar Lemo, in Kano.
The trial was reportedly done in secret, and details of its proceedings are yet to be made public. Even the name of the judge who conducted the trial is being kept secret. The court initially said two people were convicted but a court official, who simply gave his name as Nasir later said that nine people were sentenced.
The offence, committed in early June, triggered protest in Kano. The demonstration was however promptly quelled by law enforcement agents. The court where the trial began was burnt down prompting the authorities to assign the case to another court.
A statement by the State Sharia Court of Appeal, signed by one Nasiru, said the nine persons were found guilty under section 110 and section 382b of the Sharia Penal Court law year 2000. “They are hereby sentenced to death,” the statement read.
The statement acknowledged that some Muslim faithful in Kano threatened violence if the accused were set free. Already, news of the judgment has sparked jubilation by a section of Kano residents.