Nigerian Boy, 13, Jailed For Blaspheming God

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria's Kano state has sentenced a 13-year-old boy to 10 years in prison for blasphemy.

The child was accused of making uncomplimentary remarks about God.

In a separate case before the court, 22-year-old musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad in a song.

A spokesman for the court, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, told the BBC the boy and singer have the right to appeal against the sentences within 30 days.

Kano is one of several states in the mainly-Muslim north that practise the Islamic legal system alongside the country’s secular laws.