After detaining an Islamic musician, Ahmad Abdul, for publishing a blasphemous song, the Department of State Services (DSS) has freed him.

According to DailyTrust, Abdul was picked by security officials for publishing the unedited song “Barhama Gwaska,” which was deemed blasphemous and capable of causing disorder in the state. The DSS said it had taken the musician into protective custody to avoid any violent retaliation from Kano people.

Abdul apologized to the whole Muslim community, the Kano state government, and Islamic experts while incarcerated.

Ismaila Na’abba Afakallah, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board, confirmed his release from jail today, June 21. He said he had received hundreds of complaints against the song from concerned residents.

According to Afakallah, the singer was reported to the DSS, who subsequently apprehended him in a hotel where he had been hiding for days to avoid the crowd.

Another musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death by a higher Sharia court in the Hausawa Filin Hockey region of the state in August for a song he shared over WhatsApp.

On January 21, the High Court of Kano State’s appellate division overturned the death sentence and freed him.