A 13-year-old boy has been jailed for ten years after allegedly using foul and blasphemous language during an argument.
The incident, which has sparked “deep concern” among human rights activists and UNICEF, took place in northwestern Nigeria where a 13-year-old was convicted of blasphemy after reportedly cursing the name of Allah in an argument with one of his friends.
Following the quarrel, the boy appeared at a Sharia court in Kano where he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
According to Kola Alapinni, one of the 13-year-old’s legal representatives, the sentence is in contradiction with the Nigerian law and the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child which the country has signed nearly two decades ago.
“We found out they were convicted on the same day, by the same judge, in the same court, for blasphemy and we found out no one was talking about Omar, so we had to move quickly to file an appeal for him,” the human rights attorney said in an interview with CNN.
“Blasphemy is not recognized by Nigerian law. It is inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria.”
As Alapinni added, the state of Kano prohibited the boy’s counsel team from reaching out to the 13-year-old whereas his mother was forced to run away in fear for her life after angry locals confronted her at her home.
“Everyone here is scared to speak and living under fear of reprisal attacks,” the attorney insisted.
Slamming the decision to sentence the 13-year-old to ten years in prison was also Peter Hawkins, a UNICEF representative for Nigeria, who said:
“The sentencing of this child … to 10 years in prison with menial labor is wrong. It also negates all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria – and by implication, Kano State – has signed on to.”
Replaced!