Singer on death row denied medical care

Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu, a 25-year-old singer, was sentenced to death by hanging in August 2020 for “blasphemy” after sharing a song on WhatsApp. His case remains stalled, with an appeal filed before Nigeria’s Supreme Court in November 2022 still awaiting a hearing date.

Meanwhile, Yahaya, who has asthma, remains in a correctional facility without proper access to his medication. Denying him medical care endangers his life. Nigerian authorities must overturn his conviction and grant his immediate, unconditional release. Until then, he must receive the treatment he urgently needs.

Here’s what you can do:

Write to the Kano State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice urging him to:Drop all charges against Yahaya Aminu Sheriff and ensure his immediate and unconditional release.
Set a timely date for his appeal hearing to prevent further delays in justice.
Ensure his detention conditions meet international standards, in line with the Mandela Rules.
Grant him immediate access to adequate health care, including necessary medication for his asthma.
Provide him with sufficient food and clothing to maintain his well-being while in detention.


Write to:

Governor Salomón Jara Cruz

Kano State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice

Haruna Isa Dederi

Kano State Ministry of Justice

Audu Baka Secretariat Kano

15, Club Road, P.M.B. 3352, Kano, Nigeria

Emails: https://justice.kn.gov.ng / info@justice.kn.gov.ng

Salutation: Dear Attorney General,

And copy:

Mr. Abba Kawu Zanna

Minister & Acting High Commissioner

High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria

295 Metcalfe Street

Ottawa, ON K2P 1R9

Tel: (613) 236-0521,2,3/236-0521 Ext 240 (24h)

Email: chancery@nigeriahcottawa.ca

Conviction and ongoing legal battle

On August 10, 2020, an Upper Sharia Court in Kano State sentenced Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu, then 21, to death for “blasphemy” after he shared a song on WhatsApp. In January 2021, a High Court overturned his conviction due to trial irregularities and ordered a retrial.

His lawyers opposed the retrial, arguing he would still face the same blasphemy law. They appealed to the Kano Division Appeal Court, seeking to dismiss the case and declare the law unconstitutional. However, in August 2022, the court upheld both the retrial and the blasphemy law.

In November 2022, his lawyers escalated the appeal to Nigeria’s Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Kano’s blasphemy laws. Two years later, the case remains stalled, with no hearing date set. Meanwhile, Yahaya remains in detention.

Health concerns and harsh detention conditions

In March 2024, Amnesty International visited Yahaya in prison and found his health in decline. He suffers from severe asthma but lacks regular access to necessary medication. He was also denied proper food and clothing. During a follow-up visit in November 2024, Amnesty International reported some improvement due to medication provided by his family. However, he still lacks consistent medical care.

Nigeria’s detention conditions remain dire, failing to meet the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules). Prisoners frequently lack basic necessities, including adequate food and healthcare.

Blasphemy laws, the death penalty, and human rights violations

Blasphemy laws violate the right to freedom of expression. Under international human rights law, the death penalty should only apply to the “most serious crimes,” defined as intentional killing. Yahaya’s case has drawn widespread criticism. In April 2023, the European Parliament called for his release. In May 2024, UN experts also demanded his freedom.

Concerns over trial fairness persist. Yahaya was denied legal representation before and during his trial. Only after pressure from human rights activists was he allowed legal counsel for his appeal.

Nigeria continues to impose the death penalty despite calls for abolition. In 2023, courts handed down over 246 new death sentences, bringing the total number of people on death row to more than 3,413. Both the 2004 National Study Group on the Death Penalty and the 2007 Presidential Commission on the Administration of Justice warned that Nigeria’s legal system cannot ensure fair trials. They called for a moratorium on executions, a position echoed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

International law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), affirms that restrictions on freedom of expression must meet strict legal tests. The UN Human Rights Committee has explicitly stated that blasphemy laws are incompatible with these protections.

Urgent action needed

Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu’s conviction, death sentence, and prolonged detention violate Nigeria’s human rights obligations. Authorities must ensure his immediate release, uphold fair trial rights, and abolish the use of the death penalty for blasphemy.

Please take action as soon as possible until August 17, 2025. The UA will be duly updated should there be the need for further action.

Amnesty International

Related story: Nigerian humanist freed after imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’

Nigeria bets on deradicalization program in North West

The Nigerian government said it is expanding its deradicalization program, Operation Safe Corridor, to the country's North West to tackle rising insecurity in the region. In Nigeria, the North West is a geopolitical zone comprising the states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

The North West has been locked in a decade-old conflict as criminal gangs, otherwise referred to as bandits, raid villages and run a large kidnap-for-ransom industry. They are known to sexually assault women, kill citizens, and tax locals across vast swaths of northern Nigeria.

Chief of Defence Operations Emeka Onumajuru, who represented General Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff, said the deradicalization program is "vital to breaking the cycle of terrorism and banditry through a structured pathway for rehabilitation and reintegration" of bandits. The program has also been used to deradicalize former Boko Haram fighters in the North East zone.

Deradicalization efforts yield results in North East

So far, Nigerian officials say Operation Safe Corridor has been instrumental in the fight against insurgency in the North East. The program aimed to rehabilitate former insurgents who surrendered or defected, reintegrating about 2,190 repentant terrorists back into the society.

The initiative is built on five pillars, says Onumajuru. These are: disarmament, demobilization, deradicalization, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

While the program has been relatively successful in the North East region, concerns have been raised about recidivism, with reports of some rehabilitated individuals returning to terror groups.

Now with the intended expansion of the program to the North West, analysts have raised questions about Operation Safe Corridor's effectiveness. This is because the banditry in North West is largely driven by financial incentives like ransom payments, cattle rustling, and illegal mining, rather than ideology.

Can Operation Safe Corridor repeat successes?

Samuel Malik, a senior researcher at the pan-African think tank Good Governance Africa, believes the replicating the program is not inherently flawed. He says only "kinetic responses" that involve aggressive measures, often with military action, cannot solve Nigeria's security challenges.

But Samuel Malik adds the program can only succeed in the North West "if it is properly structured, monitored, and adapted to local realities, rather than being a rushed initiative."

"Deradicalization is effective when dealing with individuals who have been indoctrinated into violent extremist ideologies, but most bandits in the North West have explicitly rejected jihadist agendas," Samuel Malik said.

Oluwole Ojewale, an analyst with Dakar-based Institute for Security Studies, said the problem with "Safe Corridor" is that it was developed for terror groups who share extreme views.

"If what the government wants to do is demobilization, it is quite in order. But they cannot afford to copy and paste what they did in the North East and replicate the same in the North West," he told DW.

Deep-rooted problems remain

Critics of Operation Safe Corridor have said the program is perpetrator-centered and risks being seen as a reward system for terrorists.

Dengiyefa Angalapu, a counterterrorism and peacebuilding researcher, said this argument is reductionist. He told DW the initiative can be implemented in the North West as there are multiple actors in the region, including ideological terror groups, which often get generalized under the catchphrase of banditry.

Dengiyefa added that the deep-rooted grievances among herders prompt some to take up arms and make the initiative suitable for the region.

"Kinetic strategy alone cannot lead to a decline in terrorism. This is an initiative that should be expanded to other parts of the country to provide a national framework for countering terrorism," he told DW.

The analysts seem in agreement that this strategy should involve local peacebuilding mechanisms and economic empowerment to prevent relapse.

"While certain elements of the initiative such as psychological support, vocational training, and community reintegration remain crucial, the government should prioritize economic reintegration, conflict resolution, and mechanisms that prevent re-engagement in criminal activities," Samuel said.

By Abiodun Jamiu, DW

Nigerian robber spared deportation because he would be considered 'possessed' in home country

A Nigerian man convicted of armed robbery and drug dealing has been allowed to remain in Britain because he is "possessed" - despite deportation orders being issued over a decade ago.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is said to suffer from mental health issues including psychosis and believes he can "hear voices all the time".

A judge allowed him to stay in Britain on human rights grounds as he would not receive adequate treatment in Nigeria - where his condition might be considered demonic possession.

The man was jailed for seven years in 2011 for carrying out an armed robbery on a brothel and seven years later was handed another prison sentence for supplying crack cocaine in 2018, The Telegraph reports.

A deportation order was issued back in April 2014, more than 10 years ago, and experts have deemed him "high risk of serious harm" to the public.

A doctor found he "hears voices all the time" and suffers from "a trauma-related disorder with psychotic features", experiencing intrusive memories and nightmares, and is preoccupied with demonic forces "playing tricks with his mind".

The criminal believes his "mental ill-health is a result of being possessed" and that these demons prevent him from moving when he wakes up.

He continues to receive treatment for an addiction to crack cocaine.

Upper Tribunal Judge Stephen Smith ruled against deportation due to the convict's specific treatment needs, saying: "We note the appellant's recurring belief that his mental ill-health is a result of being possessed.

"We assess that him expressing this belief would increase the likelihood that others will see his illness as being a manifestation of possession."

The judge concluded that Nigeria could not provide the same level of care.

A report prepared by Amnesty International for the appeal reads: "He is at substantial risk of being identified as suffering from demonic forces and faces a resultant risk of being targeted as a result."

Amnesty assessed that in Nigeria, the man would "encounter widespread attitudes that confirm and amplify his belief in demonic forces and witchcraft as being at the root of his problems"

The man has seemed to express a desire to reform, saying: "I really want to stay away from crime. I don't want to get into that predicament again, I want to live a normal life."

His key worker reports he has been attending the gym five to six days a week and participates in volunteer work once a week.

He currently lives in the community rather than in secure accommodation.

This case is the latest in a series where foreign criminals have used human rights laws to remain in the UK - following cases such as an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation by claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets.

By Susanna Siddell, GBN

Nigerian Muslims arrested for eating in public during Ramadan

The Islamic police in the northern Nigerian state of Kano have arrested Muslims seen eating and drinking publicly, as well as those selling food at the start of Ramadan, when Muslims are supposed to fast from dawn until dusk.

The deputy commander of the Hisbah, Mujahid Aminudeen, told the BBC that 20 people had been arrested for not fasting and five for selling food, and that the operations would continue throughout the month, which began on Saturday.

"It is important to note that we don't concern ourselves with non-Muslims," he said.

Mr Aminudeen said any "disrespect" for Ramadan would not be condoned.

"It's heart-breaking that in such a holy month meant for fasting, adult Muslims would be seen eating and drinking publicly. We won't condone that and that's why we went out to make arrests," he said.

He said all 25 had been charged in a Sharia court and would be punished accordingly.

The Hisbah official added that they sometimes get tip-offs when people are seen eating.

"We do get calls from people who are enraged after seeing people eating in public and we act fast by going to the area to make arrests."

He also confirmed the arrest of other people who were seen with "inappropriate haircuts", wearing shorts above the knee and tricycle drivers mixing male and female passengers.

Last year, those arrested for not fasting were freed after promising to fast, while the relatives or guardians of some of them were summoned and ordered to monitor them to make sure they fast.

Those arrested this year were not so lucky as they will have to face the court.

Just over two decades ago, Sharia, or Islamic law, was introduced to work alongside secular law in 12 of Nigeria's northern states that have a majority Muslim population. Sharia does not apply to the Christian minorities living in the states.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, has a special significance in Islam.

It is during this month that Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran - Islam's holy book - were revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which lay the basis for how Muslims are required to live their lives. The fast is observed during daylight hours.

Ramadan usually last 29 or 30 days, and is expected to end on Sunday 30 March.

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

The Chimamanda effect: Nigerians’ delight at first novel in a decade from their beloved daughter

When Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie asked participants at her annual writers’ workshop in Lagos to introduce themselves, one woman was so excited to be close to her idol that she immediately burst into tears.

“She asked someone to get me water and my heart just melted,” says writer and actor Uzoamaka Power. “[That workshop] was one of the best moments of my life.”


That was June 2015 and the 25-year-old Power had read “every single thing” Adichie had written but most deeply connected with Purple Hibiscus, the 2003 novel partly set in the Nsukka campus of the University of Nigeria where Power had studied.

Now 34 and a Nollywood star, Power is brimming with anticipation ahead of the release of Dream Count, a long-awaited new novel from Adichie whose last book, Americanah, came out in 2013.

In fiecely patriotic Nigeria, Adichie, regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 21st century, has reached folk hero status. While her feminist stances have made her a divisive figure among some, her simple to digest style and insistence on writing about everyday experiences have won her fans.

“She made it OK to explore our inner lives, even if we were ‘ordinary’,” says Saratu Abiola, a writer and policy strategist in Abuja. “She really elevated relatability.”

Power agrees. “In many ways, Chimamanda gave me permission to be ordinary and to be comfortable, and to be strong and to be solid in my ordinariness. Even for something like natural hair that people might consider trivial,” she says.

“To be able to live in this world and know that somebody as powerful as Chimamanda is fine with travelling and doing all these great things that she does and still looks gorgeous does something for young girls and women alike.”

The publishing industry was also influenced by Adichie’s style, says Ainehi Edoro, founder of literary blog Brittle Paper and associate professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Before her, African fiction often came packaged with a kind of ethnographic weight – expected to ‘explain’ Africa to a western audience,” she says. “But Adichie’s work wasn’t performing ‘Africanness’ for an outsider’s gaze; it was literary, intimate, contemporary. She helped shift expectations – both in publishing and among readers – so that the next wave of African writers didn’t have to over-explain, dilute or justify their stories.”

After her first two novels, Adichie became well-known in literary circles but it was a Beyoncé collaboration in 2013, the same year that Americanah was released, that saw her influence grow exponentially and elevated her to rock star status.

“I’d say she transcended being a literary favourite when she teamed up with Beyoncé on Flawless and started to occupy more mainstream stages,” says Abiola, who has compared the roll out and anticipation for Dream Count to that of “a big music artist’s upcoming album”. “Nothing we love more than seeing a fellow Nigerian in the lights.”

In 2022, Adichie privately declined a national honour from the government, according to her spokesperson, but her home town conferred on her the chieftaincy title of Odeluwa – Igbo for “the one who writes for the world”.

Diehard fans began substituting their English first names with their Nigerian ones, including Power, who dropped Doris for Uzoamaka after a chat with Adichie at the end of the 2015 workshop.

Young women began following her Instagram for style tips and became cheerleaders for what they called her “rich aunty” style, while playfully leaving comments on her posts like: “What happened to Kainene?”, a reference to the Half of a Yellow Sun character who does not return home at the end of the Biafran war.

Isioma Onyegikei, author of the novel Aegis, sees Adichie as a bridge between older and contemporary African literary excellence. She says people have taken to Adichie because she is visible enough for many to feel “like they are able to touch her”.

“I read Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta growing up but somehow they felt like an imagination,” says Onyegikei.

“It’s different with Chimamanda,” she adds. “I watch her videos, see her … share her pain of loss and it feels very relatable because she’s succeeding, she’s in her prime, using the same apps that we use and it almost feels like I can touch her and be the same person one day.”

On X, young feminists banded together after Americanah came out, holding conversations on gender-based violence, traditional gender roles, natural hair and equal opportunities for women – or the lack of – in the workplace, while calling her “my president” and “our leader”. The debates stirred the platform so much that the term Daughters of Chimamanda emerged first as a descriptor, then as a slur, for Nigeria’s feminists.

Perceptions of her began to change on social media after her stance on transgender people triggered worldwide debate in 2017. Adichie has argued – and continues to do so – that the experiences of people who previously lived as men and were accorded male societal privileges before transitioning to be women, are significantly different from those of people who were born female.

Another comment, in a 2021 video – “I often say to young Nigerian feminists, please do not use feminism to justify your wickedness” – displeased some of her Nigerian fan base, partly because some said it had been weaponised on X.

Nevertheless, her literary icon status holds fast and many of her readers see her as a multidimensional figure, much like a character in one of her books.

“Chimamanda is very interesting,” said Onyegikei. “Many of the people – particularly guys – who hated her guts for her stance on feminism now stan [admire] her for her stance on transwomen. The people who stanned her then for her views on feminism can’t stand her because of transwomen. All in all, love or hate her, you must respect her.”

By Eromo Egbejule, The Guardian

Related story: Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie wins the Kassel Citizens' " Prism of Reason" Award