Insults were exchanged in the heat of the moment, he admits, but Farouq, a teenager, did not think anything of the exchange before being summoned to the police station and charged with blasphemy against God.
When the news of the nature of his arrest was heard, an angry crowd descended on Farouq’s house and forced his mother to flee to a neighboring town, his lawyer said.
Farouq, then 16, was convicted by a sharia court in Kano, northern Nigeria, and sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labor.
“I am delighted, I am in a joyful mood. And I am grateful to all who have helped and supported the grace of Allah for this outcome,” Farouq, now 17, told CNN in his first interview following of his release.
Alapinni was instrumental in the release of Farouq from prison.
“We found out that they were convicted of blasphemy by the same judge in the same court on the same day, and we found out that no one was talking about Omar. Therefore, we had to move quickly to file an appeal for him.” said.
“Blasphemy is not recognized by Nigerian law. It is against the constitution of Nigeria.”
The Kano High Court has ruled that Farouq’s conviction as a minor is “accidental and … is hereby set aside and the accused is hereby dismissed and acquitted.”
An ‘unfair’ punishment
Farouq says he feels resentful because the Sharia court was “unfair” against him.
Sharia court officials did not comment on Farouq’s case, and attempts to reach it were unsuccessful. CNN also contacted the Canoe State Government for comment, but has not yet received a response.
In all, Farouq spent more than five months locked up without access to family or lawyers.
His family said they were not informed about the details of his case and did not even know what date his court hearing was held.
“They were not fair to us,” his uncle Umar Aliyu told CNN. “When they took this boy to court, they did not tell us the court where they took him … and they refused to tell us the date for the verdict. They kept chasing us away. I went to the Hisbah “went to the office and pleaded. with the interrogator, but he told me to leave his office. I was hurt and close to tears, extremely sad.”
The family also found out from media reports that Farouq had been convicted and sentenced, Aliyu said.
Aliyu remembers being ‘shrouded in sadness’ every time he thinks of his cousin being locked up without contact with his family.
‘Everyone … was very upset, we were really sad. We should have just comforted each other and some advised to regard it as something ordered by Allah … and said that they should be patient. It provided emotional relief.
‘For the period he was in jail every time I thought of him, I got worried. Every time I thought of him, my sadness would envelop me. ‘
“His life is in danger”
Now that Farouq has been released, he says he is determined to complete his education and that he has ambitions to enter politics to fight the kind of injustice he has faced.
“I pray that Allah will bless me to become governor or president to reform sharia and end the injustice on my fellow citizens and myself, as the transgression in some court cases does not deliver the harsh verdict. It is the deprivation of your right. oppression and abuse, ”he said.
Although his conviction has been overturned, Farouq’s life remains in jeopardy by some fanatics who regard his release as an insult, according to his lawyer.
Alapinni told CNN how terrified Farouq was when he showed up to meet him outside jail when he was released.
“He knows himself that he’s in danger, because when we tried to get him out of jail … you could see the fear in his face, he did not even want to follow us … everyone told him that when he get out. from the prison walls he will be killed, ‘Alapinni said.
“We must now arrange safe passage for him. His life is in danger in Kano – it will never be the same again,” he said.