Blasphemy convictions spark Nigerian debate over sharia law


  • World
  • Friday, 02 Oct 2020

A still image taken from TV footage shows Professor of Islamic Studies, Taiwo Salisu, displaying a book during an interview with Reuters at Lagos State University, in Lagos, Nigeria September 30, 2020. Reuters TV via REUTERS

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) - Fuad Adeyemi, an imam in Nigeria's capital Abuja, respects those who believe that a 22-year-old man accused of sharing a blasphemous message on WhatsApp should be punished. But he thinks the death sentence is too harsh.

He was referring to a ruling handed to Yahaya Aminu Sharif by a sharia court in the northern state of Kano in August. On the same day, the court sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Omar Farouq, to 10 years in prison, also for blasphemy.

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