BEVERLY HILLS, January 22, (THEWILL) – A Kano High Court of Appeal sitting at Audu Bako secretariat has discharged and acquitted a teenager, Faruq Umar, earlier sentenced to a 10-year jail on offence of blasphemy against Allah.
Umar was convicted and sentenced to jail by an upper Shari’a Court judge, Aliyu Mohammad Kani, Filling Hockey division last year for violating section 382 of the Sharia penal code law 2000.
He was 13-year-old when he committed the said offense but the judgment was delivered in 2020 when Umar was 17 years old.
In his judgment on the appeal, Justice Nasiru Saminu, nullified the judgment of the lower court for lacking credibility.
Justice Saminu, also set aside the judgment of Upper Sharia court that sentenced one Yahaya Sheriff to death by hanging and ordered for immediate retrial.
In his judgment on an appeal, Justice Saminu declared that the ruling on the lower court was full of irregularities and thereby lack reputable merit to stand.
Yahaya was found guilty of blasphemy for altering foul language against prophet Muhammad and sentenced to death.
While ruling on the appeal Justice Saminu insisted Yahaya was not given a fair hearing. He directed the retrial of the case to another Sharia judge.
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