Sharia court in Kano sentences Imam to death for blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad

A Kano-based Sharia court has sentenced an Imam, Abdul Niasse, to death for blaspheming Islam's holiest figure, Prophet Muhammad. According to the prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki who spoke with AFP, Niasse was sentenced at a secret trial to "avoid a repeat of the mob action" seen at a previous hearing of the court.

Niasse caused public outrage in May when he allegedly made derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad to followers as they marked the birthday of the former leader of the Muslim Tijaniyya Sufi order, Ibrahim Niasse.

He was arrested in Abuja in August where he was in hiding and was brought back to Kano for his trial "He has up to a month to appeal the sentence and it is most likely he is going for appeal," Soron-Dinki added