Africa Press-Nigeria:<\/p>\n
The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned the sentencing of 13-year-old Umar Farouq to 10 years in prison for blasphemy.<\/p>\n
Umar was handed the harsh sentence by Aliyu Kanu, the same judge who passed a death sentence on Kano musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu for blasphemy, after being found guilty of using \u201cdisparaging language on Allah\u201d during a disagreement with his friend.<\/p>\n
Reacting, Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Nigeria in a statement released on Wednesday condemned the ruling given by the Judge.<\/p>\n
Hawkins said the sentence contradicts the United Nations convention on the rights of the child which Nigeria ratified in 1991.<\/p>\n
He also called on the Kano State government to urgently reverse the sentencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cUNICEF today express deep concern about the sentencing of 13-year-old Omar Farouq to ten years\u2019 imprisonment with menial labour by the Kano State Sharia Court at Feli Hockey, Kano, in northern Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sentencing of this child \u201313-year-old to 10 years in prison with menial labour is wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also negates all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria and by implication, Kano State has signed on to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sentence is in contravention of the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, which Nigeria ratified in 1991.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also a violation of the African charter on the rights and welfare of the child which Nigeria ratified in 2001, and Nigeria\u2019s Child Rights Act 2003, which domesticates Nigeria\u2019s international obligations to protect children\u2019s right to life, survival and development,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Africa Press-Nigeria: The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned the sentencing of 13-year-old Umar Farouq to 10 years in prison for blasphemy. Umar was handed the harsh sentence by Aliyu Kanu, the same judge who passed a death sentence on Kano musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu for blasphemy, after being found guilty of using \u201cdisparaging language […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":19577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[1286,435],"class_list":["post-30036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-kano-state","tag-unicef"],"yoast_head":"\n