Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death on August 10, 2020, for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed, was given 30 days by the court to appeal the judgment, meaning that the time would lapse on Wednesday, September 9.
Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), had accused officials of the court of refusing to make available certified true copies of the judgment.
Falana said there was a need for things to move quickly since Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, had said last week that he would sign the convict’s death warrant once the time for the appeal lapsed.
“They have not released the judgment and time is running out. And if we cannot obtain copies of the judgment, we cannot appeal. They have just been saying the judgment is not ready and the days are counting,” Falana said.
Reacting on Wednesday, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, spokesperson for the court, denied the accusation.
Ibrahim said the judgment was handwritten and had to be typed.
He said that three copies had been made; one for the court, one for the Kano State Attorney-General and the third copy for the lawyers that formally requested for it.
“The delay in making the judgment available to lawyers that volunteer to rescue the life of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was a result of the fact that Arabic scripts had to be entered in the judgment,” he said.
The musician, who is a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020.
Irate youth burnt down his family home and led a protest to the Sharia Police, Hisbah, demanding Sharif-Aminu’s death.
