US Calls for Release of Nigerian Musician on Death Row

The United States has called on the Nigerian government to release Sufi musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who has been detained since 2020 after being sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. Riley Barnes, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, made this appeal during a hearing of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee.

Barnes stated that the US is actively engaging with Nigerian authorities to secure Sharif-Aminu's release and to end the enforcement of blasphemy laws. He criticized the prosecution of individuals for alleged blasphemy, emphasizing violations of free speech and religious freedom.

Sharif-Aminu was arrested in March 2020 for sharing song lyrics deemed blasphemous, leading to a mob attack on his family home. A Sharia court in Kano State sentenced him to death in August 2020, but the conviction was overturned in 2021.

He has remained in detention while appealing the constitutionality of Nigeria's blasphemy laws, with international bodies like the United Nations and the ECOWAS Court of Justice calling for his release.