Omar Farouq was convicted in a Sharia court in Kano state in northwestern Nigeria after being accused of using foul language against Allah in an argument with a friend.
He was sentenced on August 10 by the same court that recently sentenced studio assistant Yahaya Sharif-Aminu to death for defaming the prophet Mohammed, lawyers said.
Farouq’s sentence is in violation of the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of a Child and the Nigerian Constitution, said his counsel, Kola Alapinni, who told CNN they had appealed on his behalf on Sept. 7.
Farouq was tried as an adult for reaching puberty and having full responsibility under Islamic law.
Alapinni told CNN that he or other lawyers working on the case have not been granted access to Farouq by authorities in Kano state.
He said he found out about Farouq’s case by accident while working on the case of Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy at the Kano Upper Sharia Court.
“We found out that they had been convicted of blasphemy on the same day, by the same judge, in the same court, and we found out that no one was talking about Omar, so we had to quickly file an appeal for him,” he says. said.
“Blasphemy is not recognized by Nigerian law. It violates the Nigerian Constitution.”
The lawyer said Farouq’s mother had fled to a neighboring town after crowds came to their home after his arrest.
“Everyone here is afraid to speak up and lives in fear of reprisal,” he said.
UNICEF released a statement Wednesday “expressing deep concern” about the conviction.
“The sentencing of this child – 13-year-old Omar Farouq – to 10 years in prison with menial labor is wrong,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Nigeria. “It also denies all of the fundamental underlying principles of children’s rights and justice that Nigeria – and by implication the state of Kano – has signed.”
The state of Kano, like most predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria, applies Sharia in addition to secular law.
CNN reached out to a spokesman for the Kano State Governor for comment, but had heard nothing before publication.
UNICEF has called on the Nigerian and Kano state government to urgently review the case and overturn the sentence, the organization said in a statement.
This case further underscores the urgent need to accelerate the adoption of the Kano State Child Protection Bill to ensure that all children under 18, including Omar Farouq, are protected – and that all children in Kano are treated in accordance with children’s rights standards., “Hawkins said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story and the headline misrepresented Omar Farouq’s age. We have corrected them based on new information from court documents. Farouq was 16 when he was arrested.