Abubakar Usman Mabera, chairman of Sokoto state Ulama forum of Izala, says any Muslim lawyer who defends Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician sentenced to death in Kano state, has renounced Islam.
TheCable had reported how the development stirred an outcry among many Nigerians.
Despite the public outcry, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria asked Kano state government to execute the court judgment.
The convict has however appealed against the court’s decision.
Mabera, while speaking in Sokoto at the weekend, said blasphemy is a capital offence in Islam of which punishment is death, and that since a competent court has found the singer guilty, he cannot be pardoned.
The cleric also asked the Muslim faithful to seek God’s forgiveness because the prevailing setbacks in the country are signs of wrongdoing.
”For all indications, God is not happy with us and we have to repent because he alone is the answer to our woes,” he said.
In a statement on Thursday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said Sharif-Aminu was not represented by a lawyer during the trial at the Upper Sharia Court and that he has been denied access to any lawyer since his conviction.
Source: The Cable
