Blasphemy: We can’t intervene in court cases, Kano replies UNICEF
Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Musa Abdullahi Lawan has said it is wrong for United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to ask the state government to intervene in a court judgment that sentences a minor to 10 years imprisonment for alleged blasphemy.
UNICEF’s country representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins had called on the Nigerian and the Kano State Government to urgently review the case with a view to reversing the sentence.
The UNICEF representative had said “The sentencing of this child - 13-year-old Omar Farouk - to 10 years in prison with menial labour 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.”
However, in a swift reaction, the Attorney General said “There have been issues that the convict is a minor but what was on the court record was that he is 17-years-old.
“For UNICEF to say that the state government should intervene, of course, there is no country that government intervenes in court cases. Once there is a judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction, the next thing, if there is a problem with the judgment, the aggrieved party can file an appeal.
“And in this instance, he has the right of appeal to the High Court, to the Court of Appeal, and to the Supreme Court. If indeed he is a minor, the record will show that; and if he files an appeal, as you know under the law, a minor cannot be held accountable especially in criminal cases. I think it is wrong for UNICEF to say the state government should intervene.”
He further noted that the best thing is to wait for the outcome of the appeal.
It could be recalled that on August 10, a Shari’a Court sentenced Faruk to ten years imprisonment after he pleaded before the court over alleged blasphemous remarks during a heated debate on March 4 this year.
The trial Judge, Khadi Muhammad Ali-Kani, in his judgment, said the offence contravened Islamic Law, and sentenced the convict to 10-years imprisonment under section 382 (b) of Kano State Panel Code Law 2000 and granted him 30-day grace to appeal the judgment.