Imam Sentenced to Death Over Blasphemy in Nigeria

A Nigerian Shariah court has sentenced a prominent Sufi Muslim cleric to death for blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad in a rare capital punishment ruling against an imam.

The Upper Shariah court sentenced Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara for what was seen as his revisionist preaching.

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue that can lead to a death sentence in a dozen predominantly Muslim states in northern Nigeria, where Islamic law operates alongside common law.

Death sentences are rarely carried out.

Judge Abdullahi Sarki Yola found Kabara guilty of blasphemy. He had been in custody since his arrest in July 2021.

"This court has established all the charges brought against you and hereby sentences you to death in accordance with Shariah provision on blasphemy," Yola said during the hourlong judgment.

The judge ordered the confiscation of Kabara's two mosques and his personal library.

Kabara sat quietly throughout the judgment in the courtroom packed with lawyers and journalists, with scores of armed police and other paramilitary personnel on guard outside.

Kabara objected to his counsel's plea for leniency and maintained his innocence, calling on his followers to remain calm.

Kabara, from the Qadiriyya Sufi order, has been at odds with other Sunni Muslim clerics in northern Nigeria, particularly ultraconservative Salafi.

Their disagreement stemmed from his approach to Islamic history and theology, which he claims are replete with myths, lies, distortions and concoctions.

Kabara's opponents accused him of insulting the companions of the prophet, some of whom Kabara accused of lying about the prophet, and maliciously portraying him in a bad light.

Kabara's conviction for blasphemy is the third in recent years in Kano.

In August 2020, a Shariah court in the city gave the death penalty to singer Yahaya Aminu Sharif from the Tijjaniyya Sufi order for a song he shared online that was found to have blasphemed the prophet. His case is on retrial.

Abdul Nyass, a Tijjaniyya Sufi Muslim cleric, was sentenced to death in 2015 for blasphemy against the prophet in his preaching. The sentence has not been carried out.

In April, a Kano high court jailed Mubarak Bala, an atheist, to 24 years for blasphemous online posts against the prophet.

AFP

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Nigeria church attack video restored to Instagram by Meta's Oversight Board

Meta's Oversight Board on Wednesday overturned a decision to remove a video that was shared on Instagram showing the gruesome aftermath of an attack on a church in Nigeria that killed at least 40 people.

The video showing motionless, bloodied bodies on the floor, apparently the aftermath of the church attack that took place on June 5 in Owo, southwest Nigeria, was shared by an Instagram user on the same day.

Meta removed the video, saying hashtags added by the user could be read as glorifying violence and minimizing suffering. The user appealed against the removal to the independent board.

The board on Wednesday asked Meta to restore the post with a "disturbing content" warning screen, saying this would protect victims' privacy while allowing for discussion of events.

"Nigeria is experiencing an ongoing series of terrorist attacks and the Nigerian government has suppressed coverage of some of them, though it does not appear to have done so in relation to the June 5 attack," the board said.

"The Board agrees that in such contexts freedom of expression is particularly important."

Nigerian authorities have accused insurgents from the Islamic State in West Africa group of carrying out the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, which took place during Pentecost Sunday mass. Five suspects were arrested in August.

The Nigerian government has been exploring ways to regulate social media use in the country, Africa's most populous. Millions of Nigerians are active users of YouTube, Twitter , Facebook (META.O) and TikTok.

The West African country has asked Google to block the use of YouTube channels and livestreams by banned groups and terrorist organizations in the country. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

Relates story: Video - Nigeria church attack: Survivors face grief, trauma

12-year-old Nigerian chess prodigy and his family granted asylum by U.S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chess prodigy Tanitoluwa "Tani" Adewumi and his family, who fled Nigeria in 2017 fearing attacks by the terror group Boko Haram, have officially been granted asylum in the United States, the family confirmed to CBS News Wednesday.

Tani, now 12, rose to fame at just 8-years-old, when he defeated 73 of the best chess players in his age group in New York to win his division in the state championship, and set a record in the process.

"We thank God for his mercy and the people of America for their kindness," Kayode Adewumi, the boy's father, told CBS News in a text message. Kayode indicated that Tani will now be able to compete internationally.


In 2019, the family told CBS News they were living in a homeless shelter while trying to support Tani's goals of becoming a grandmaster in the sport.

At 10 years old, Tani became the 28th-youngest chess player to become a national master in the U.S. Chess Federation. He has since become an International Chess Federation (FIDE) master, after winning the under-12 division of the North American Youth Chess Championship in 2021.

Tani's father told CBS News the family's next goal is to obtain U.S. citizenship.

By Greg Cannella,  CBS

Related story: Bill Clinton praises 8-year old Nigerian chess prodigy seeking refugee status in the U.S.

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Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Demola Seriki, passes away at 63

 

 

 

 

 

The Nigerian ambassador to Spain, Demola Seriki has died at the age of 63.

The news of his death was made public in a statement signed by his children, the former minister was said to have passed away “surrounded by his family” on Thursday, December 15.

“It is with heavy hearts and profound gratitude to Almighty Allah that we announce the loss of our much loved and admired patriarch, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend,” the statement reads.

Born on November 30, 1959, Seriki was a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, and a one-time Minister of State for Defence.

As Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, he had concurrent accreditation as a permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Vanguard

Women led startups in Nigeria winning over investors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Nigerian snack company ReelFruit's Lagos warehouse a woman places handfuls of dried mangoes in bags and workers hammer open coconuts to scrape out the flesh. The company is expanding production and exports after a $3 million investment.

ReelFruit is part of a burgeoning group of female-founded Nigerian startups attracting investor cash as women stake more claim to the funding and as some financiers look to support female-led companies and redress a gender gap.

Africa's female-founded companies got just 3% of the $1.7 billion invested in the continent's startups in the past decade, according to emerging market intelligence firm Briter Bridges. But last year, equity rounds from female-founded African startups raised $834 million, a 284% increase and 20% of the total.

ReelFruit is led by 36-year-old Affiong Williams, who said securing major cash was an arduous process.

"The difficulty is that maybe in the areas where a lot of money is flowing to, women are not represented," she told Reuters. "And I think that's what needs to change."

Much of the money invested in startups heads to technology and finance projects.

Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, co-founder of Healthtracka, said fundraising for her company, which aims to make medical diagnosis accessible and affordable, was also a bumpy journey.

After pitching to one group of investors, Dare-Johnson said she was quizzed about her family, and how she would manage to combine her role as a mother with her work – questions she doubts male founders are asked.

"I felt quite insulted honestly… insulted and also amazed at their ignorance," she said, adding that their attitude was what "stops so many women from reaching out and just being more ambitious."

In June, Healthtracka, which now delivers more than 1,000 tests a month in ten Nigerian cities, raised $1.5 million. Dare-Johnson said closing the funding gap is crucial for all of the continent's consumers, who would benefit from products designed and manufactured by women.

"I think that we're robbing the world of a balanced view, a balanced product, a better product, if we leave one gender out of it," she said.

By Angela Ukomadu, Reuters