00:00Nigeria's Supreme Court will allow a musician sentenced to death for blasphemy to appeal his
00:06controversial sentence outside of the legal time frame. Yahya Sharif Aminu was convicted in 2020
00:14by an Islamic religious court in Kano State. Now he was accused of blaspheming about the Prophet
00:21Muhammad. The high profile case has highlighted a clash between religious law and constitutional
00:26rights in Nigeria. Sharif Aminu's lawyers are hoping for a ruling that reigns in Sharia law.
00:32Our Sam Olokoya breaks it all down for us. Yahya Sharif Aminu, a musician condemned to death
00:40for circulating music deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad, is at the center of this landmark
00:46appeal. Sharif Aminu was convicted in 2020 by a Kano State Sharia court. A state high court later
00:55overturned the conviction, but ordered a retrial. Its lawyers have approached the Supreme Court
01:01to halt a retrial, saying it cannot be tried under Sharia law, because aspects of the law
01:08conflict with Nigeria's constitution as a secular state. Its lawyer, Kola Alakwini, told France 24
01:15that such aspects like capital punishment and amputation are not in line with the constitution.
01:21The prosecution, however, insists that the young musician will be executed publicly for blasphemy
01:29if he loses its appeal. The blasphemy law is the most controversial aspect of the Sharia law.
01:36Nigeria has seen several incidents of people being killed by angry Muslims on account of alleged
01:43blasphemy. The latest incident happened just three weeks ago when a mob burnt a woman to death.
01:49Human rights activists have questioned such mob killings in the name of Sharia law.
01:56Sharia law operates in 12 of Nigeria's mainly Muslim states. The outcome of the Supreme Court
02:03appeal may finally end the controversy of whether Sharia law, with some of its harsh provisions,
02:10all the
