On continuing detention and risk of the death penalty for individuals in Nigeria charged with blasphemy, notably the case of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu

B100123/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on continuing detention and risk of the death penalty for individuals in Nigeria charged with blasphemy, notably the case of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu

(2025/2548(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria,

having regard to Rule 150 (5) of its Rules of Procedure,

Whereas Nigerian singer and Sufi Muslim Yahaya Sharif-Aminu has been detained since March 2020 on blasphemy charges that carry the death penalty;

whereas on 10 August 2020, Sharif-Aminu was tried in Kano State without legal representation and sentenced to death by hanging for song lyrics allegedly containing derogatory comments regarding the Prophet Muhammad; whereas on 21 January 2021, his conviction was overturned but he was ordered to a retrial; whereas on 17 August 2022 the Court of Appeal upheld the retrial order and in November 2022, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court of Nigeria;

whereas on 30 August 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention held that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu’s detention was in contravention of seven articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and five articles the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and called for the immediate release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, as well as compensation and other reparations;

whereas three other Nigerians remain imprisoned on blasphemy charges, including Sufi cleric Abdulazeez Inyass, sentenced to death in Kano State in January 2016; Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara, sentenced to death in Kano State on 15 December 2022; and Isma’ila Sani Isah, arrested in Sokoto State in July 2021;

whereas blasphemy laws in Nigeria are in violation of its international human rights commitments, the African Charter and the Nigerian Constitution; whereas Nigeria is one of seven countries in the world where an individual can be sentenced to death for blasphemy;

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Urges the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, drop all charges against him and guarantee his safety and due process rights; calls for the release of Abdulazeez Inyass, Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara, Isma’ila Sani Isah and any others who face blasphemy allegations;

Recalls that blasphemy laws are in clear breach of international human rights obligations, in particular the ICCPR to which Nigeria is party, and contrary to the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom and freedom of expression;

Urges the Nigerian authorities to uphold human rights throughout the country by ensuring that federal, state and Sharia law do not deny Nigerians protection under the national Constitution and international conventions; urges the Nigerian authorities to repeal the blasphemy laws at federal and state level;

Recalls the international efforts to abolish the death penalty and urges Nigeria to immediately withdraw the use of capital punishment for blasphemy and take steps towards full abolition;

Urges the government of Nigeria to combat the impunity surrounding blasphemy accusations by penalising the purveyors of false allegations and bringing perpetrators of violence to justice, and thereby strengthening rule of law;

Calls for the EU and its Member States to raise individual cases, human rights concerns and blasphemy laws with the Nigerian authorities;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Parliament and Government of Nigeria.