SEE HOW Kano court sentences preacher to death for blaspheming Prophet Muhammad

A Sharia court in Kano has passed the death sentence on a popular Muslim cleric in the city for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad.

The preacher, Abdul Niasse, was sentenced after a secret trial by the Upper Sharia court in Kano.

Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki said the trial was conducted behind closed doors to “avoid a repeat of the mob action” seen at a previous hearing of the court, reports AFP news agency.

AFP reports that Niasse sparked off public outrage in May 2015 when he allegedly made derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad to followers as they marked the birthday of the former leader of the Muslim Tijaniyya Sufi order, Ibrahim Niasse.

The preacher fled to Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja where he was later arrested in August 2015 and was taken back to Kano for his trial. “He has up to a month to appeal the sentence and it is most likely he is going for appeal,” Soron-Dinki said.

Story: AFP/BBC