The appeals department of the high court in Kano on Thursday set aside the sentence of Omar Farouq because he did not have legal representation at his first trial, his adv. Kola Alapinni told CNN.
He was released on Monday after being in custody for more than five months. with no access to family or lawyers.
The Sharia court ruling that was declared null and void on Thursday described him as a 17-year-old minor, but Alapinni told CNN his client is 13.
Alapinni said Farouq’s mother fled to a neighboring town after crowds stormed their home after his arrest.
“We must now arrange safe passage for him. His life is in danger in Kano – it will never be the same again,” Alapinni said.
He did not allow legal representation before or during his trial – in violation of Nigerian citizens’ constitutional right to legal representation, his lawyers said.
He was convicted on August 10 of making a blasphemous statement against Prophet Mohammed in a WhatsApp group, the verdict reads.
Blasphemy is an offense that carries the death penalty under the Sharia Penal Code in Kano State.
According to various reports, the survey was widely shared, causing the large conservative Muslim majority in the Muslim state.
However, Sharif-Aminu’s case has been transferred to Sharia court for a retrial due to procedural irregularities, Alapinni said.
The lawyer told CNN his team will appeal over the whole of the ruling.
“Both cases have similar facts and the same judge. Why is one accused free and not the other?” he said.
Amaiesti’s country director, Osai Ojigho, said she welcomed the release of Farouq and that he was not in the first [place]. “
“We reiterate our view that Aminu Yahaya Shariff should be tried fairly,” she added.
Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje told Kano clerics in August that he would sign Sharif-Aminu’s death warrant as soon as the singer exhausted the appeal process, according to local media reports.
The state of Kano, like most Muslim states in Nigeria, practices sharia law along with secular law.
In the eyes of many Nigerians, the adoption of sharia law is a violation of the country’s constitution because they believe Article 10 guarantees religious freedom.
“This issue of blasphemy is incompatible with the Nigerian constitution,” Leo Igwe, chairman of the board of trustees of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, told CNN in September.
The court upheld the legality of the Sharia penal system in both cases, a ruling that Alapinni said he would also appeal to the Federal Court.
“This is going to be the root of religious freedom in Nigeria,” he added.