<p>An Islamic court in northern Nigeria on Monday sentenced a singer to death for blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, judicial officials said.</p>.<p>An Upper Islamic Sharia court in the city of Kano ordered 22-year-old Yahaya Aminu Sharif to die by hanging for derogatory expressions against the Prophet in one of his songs, spokesman for the Kano region justice ministry, Baba-Jibo Ibrahim, told AFP.</p>.<p>Sharia courts in majority Muslim northern Nigeria have handed down death sentences for adultery, murder and homosexuality before but to date, no executions have been carried out.</p>.<p>"The court handed down the death sentence as enshrined in Islamic laws based on irrefutable evidence and the convict's admission of guilt," Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>Sharif was accused of blaspheming the Prophet in a song he shared on social media in March, which caused riots in the city.</p>.<p>Mobs burnt the singer's family home and took to the streets demanding his prosecution, leading to his arrest.</p>.<p>Ibrahim said Sharif had legal representation during the four-month trial which was held behind closed doors for security reasons.</p>.<p>Sharif, a Muslim singer, belongs to a separate branch of Tijaniyya Sufi order, whose beliefs are considered heretical because of their different interpretation of some basic Islamic principles.</p>.<p>His conviction is the second death sentence to be passed for blasphemy since around a dozen states in the north reintroduced a stricter version of Sharia law in the early 2000s, where Sharia courts run parallel to state and federal justice system.</p>.<p>Abdul Nyass, a Sufi Muslim cleric, was sentenced to death in 2015 by a Kano Sharia court for blasphemy against the Prophet in his preachings.</p>.<p>Nyass drew public outrage when he made derogatory remarks against the Prophet before a gathering of disciples as they marked the birthday of the former leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, Ibrahim Nyass.</p>.<p>Nyass is also a member of the Tijjaniyya Sufi order.</p>.<p>The same court on Monday sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Umar Farouk, to 10 years in prison with menial labour for blasphemy, judicial official Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>He said Farouk was found guilty of using foul language against God during an argument with a friend.</p>.<p>"The court considered the boy's age as a minor and sentenced him to 10-year jail term as penitence and to make him reform," he said.</p>.<p>Both convicts have one month to appeal the sentences.</p>
<p>An Islamic court in northern Nigeria on Monday sentenced a singer to death for blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, judicial officials said.</p>.<p>An Upper Islamic Sharia court in the city of Kano ordered 22-year-old Yahaya Aminu Sharif to die by hanging for derogatory expressions against the Prophet in one of his songs, spokesman for the Kano region justice ministry, Baba-Jibo Ibrahim, told AFP.</p>.<p>Sharia courts in majority Muslim northern Nigeria have handed down death sentences for adultery, murder and homosexuality before but to date, no executions have been carried out.</p>.<p>"The court handed down the death sentence as enshrined in Islamic laws based on irrefutable evidence and the convict's admission of guilt," Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>Sharif was accused of blaspheming the Prophet in a song he shared on social media in March, which caused riots in the city.</p>.<p>Mobs burnt the singer's family home and took to the streets demanding his prosecution, leading to his arrest.</p>.<p>Ibrahim said Sharif had legal representation during the four-month trial which was held behind closed doors for security reasons.</p>.<p>Sharif, a Muslim singer, belongs to a separate branch of Tijaniyya Sufi order, whose beliefs are considered heretical because of their different interpretation of some basic Islamic principles.</p>.<p>His conviction is the second death sentence to be passed for blasphemy since around a dozen states in the north reintroduced a stricter version of Sharia law in the early 2000s, where Sharia courts run parallel to state and federal justice system.</p>.<p>Abdul Nyass, a Sufi Muslim cleric, was sentenced to death in 2015 by a Kano Sharia court for blasphemy against the Prophet in his preachings.</p>.<p>Nyass drew public outrage when he made derogatory remarks against the Prophet before a gathering of disciples as they marked the birthday of the former leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, Ibrahim Nyass.</p>.<p>Nyass is also a member of the Tijjaniyya Sufi order.</p>.<p>The same court on Monday sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Umar Farouk, to 10 years in prison with menial labour for blasphemy, judicial official Ibrahim said.</p>.<p>He said Farouk was found guilty of using foul language against God during an argument with a friend.</p>.<p>"The court considered the boy's age as a minor and sentenced him to 10-year jail term as penitence and to make him reform," he said.</p>.<p>Both convicts have one month to appeal the sentences.</p>