CORRECTED-Blasphemy convictions spark Nigerian debate over sharia law

(Corrects spelling to Alapinni, paragraphs 6 and 8)
By Alexis Akwagyiram and Abraham Achirga
LAGOS/ABUJA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Fuad Adeyemi, an imam in
Nigeria's capital Abuja, respects those who believe that a
22-year-old man accused of sharing a blasphemous message on
WhatsApp should be punished. But he thinks the death sentence is
too harsh.
He was referring to a ruling handed to Yahaya Aminu Sharif
by a sharia court in the northern state of Kano in August. On
the same day, the court sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Omar
Farouq, to 10 years in prison, also for blasphemy.
The sentences caused an international outcry and sparked a
broader debate in Nigeria about the role of Islamic law in a
country roughly evenly split between a predominantly Muslim
north and mainly Christian south.
"They should review the judgment ... and reduce the
punishment," said Adeyemi, clad in a white robe and sitting on
the concrete floor of a half-built Abuja mosque where moments
earlier he had led more than a dozen men in prayer.
Sharia, or Islamic religious law, is applied in 12 of
Nigeria's 36 states, raising questions about the compatibility
of two legal systems where sharia courts operate alongside
secular ones. Kola Alapinni, a lawyer representing both Sharif and Farouq,
told Reuters that appeals against the convictions had been
lodged at the Kano state high court, although no dates for the
hearings had yet been set.
He said the move was made on the grounds that sharia courts
of appeal do not have criminal jurisdiction. Any further appeals
should, he added, be held in secular courts up to the Supreme
Court, the country's highest legal authority.
"We are a secular country," said Alapinni, one of a team of
lawyers working on behalf of the Lagos-based Foundation for
Religious Freedom rights group, referring to the country's
secular constitution.
"Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation where
everybody is welcome."
The convictions were condemned by some rights groups, the
United Nations and the head of Poland's Auschwitz Memorial.
In Nigeria, they divided opinion on social media and in the
street.
"How does Sharia law even exist alongside Nigeria's
Constitution?" posted a Twitter user called Obi.
In Abuja, Nigeria's capital city built in the middle of the
country to promote unity, insurance executive Hamid Abubakar
took a different view.
One of dozens of Muslim men who gathered beside a busy road
to perform prayers outdoors, Abubakar said he believed the
punishments were "in order", and sharia's role in Nigeria should
be respected. He also warned against Western interference.
"People should not come to others' faith and push their
thinking," he said.