A young man has been sitting in prison in Nigeria for the past six years with the possibility of a death sentence over his head.
His name is Yahaya Sharif-Aminu. He is a Sufi musician. The state of Kano in northern Nigeria wants to execute him for the alleged crime of sharing a handful of song lyrics on social media that the state claims are blasphemous to the Prophet Muhammad.
After six long years, Yahaya’s case seemed to be finally making its way through the Supreme Court of Nigeria. On Thursday, June 25, the Supreme Court was supposed to decide the date for his oral argument.
Instead, just a few days before the hearing, Yahaya received the news that his hearing was abruptly cancelled. No hearing date was rescheduled. Justice would have to wait indefinitely.
The delay in Yahaya’s case is a major red flag for whether Nigeria is truly committed to improving religious freedom or if government officials are simply stringing the international community along.
This case should be a huge opportunity for Nigeria to change its international image on religious freedom. Yahaya’s case would allow Nigeria to take the historic step of consigning one of the world’s worst blasphemy laws to the dustbin of history.
That officials are delaying Yahaya’s case is deeply troubling.
Over the past year, concerns over religious freedom and persecution in Nigeria have risen to major international attention. Last October, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. While initially hostile to this intervention, the Nigerian government soon pursued cooperation with the United States, particularly regarding security issues.
The international attention is well deserved. For years, more Christians have been killed for their faith in Nigeria than in all other countries combined, and they are disproportionately likely to be targets in the north, where they are a minority. Moderate Muslims are also particularly targeted, as earlier this year, when dozens were killed in Kwara state by jihadists for refusing to reject the Nigerian Constitution and embrace Sharia law.
But northern Nigeria’s death penalty blasphemy law has also been a major focus of international attention. Since 2000, 12 northern Nigerian states have adopted Sharia criminal law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone convicted of insulting the Quran or its prophets. Nigeria is one of only seven countries in the world with a similar law. The law has led to deadly bouts of mob violence against Christians, Muslims, and others.
Nigeria is also the only secular country with a death penalty blasphemy law. The Nigerian Constitution protects freedom of expression and religious freedom, and it prevents the establishment of any state religion. In 2025, the West African Treaty Court held that Nigeria’s blasphemy laws were illegal and should be repealed, directly relying on Yahaya’s case.
Internationally, the U.N. has determined that the detention of Yahaya is in violation of international law and that the blasphemy law should be repealed. The European Parliament has twice called for Yahaya’s release and the repeal of the blasphemy law.
The U.S. House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees highlighted the blasphemy laws in their report on Nigeria to President Trump, and the House is now seeking to condition all assistance to Nigeria on religious freedom improvements.
There is simply no way to justify sentencing someone to death over song lyrics, even if others find them offensive, and certainly no justification could be found for a country with a secular constitution modeled off international human rights treaties.
This is why Yahaya’s case at the Nigerian Supreme Court should be such an important opportunity for the nation to demonstrate its commitment to upholding fundamental rights.
The Nigerian government has been at pains to show good faith cooperation with the U.S. In January, the newly established U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group stated that the countries would “take joint active, sustained measures to promote and protect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief for all in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
But by delaying justice for Yahaya, Nigerian officials are directly violating this commitment made to the U.S. Failing to stop the death penalty blasphemy law—and leaving Yahaya in prison for who knows how many more years—will be a stain on the nation and bring widespread U.S. and international condemnation.
Yahaya Sharif-Aminu’s case is about more than one young man’s life. It is one of the clearest opportunities Nigeria has ever had to prove its capacity for protecting the most fundamental of human rights.
Instead of delaying and shirking from its obligations, Nigeria should take this opportunity, uphold the rule of law and fundamental rights, and strike down this draconian blasphemy law. Otherwise, talk of Nigeria’s commitments to religious freedom is just that: talk, and no more.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
