US Commission Decries Growing Threat to Religious Freedom in Nigeria

*Urges designation of Africa’s most populous nation as ‘Country of Particular Concern’
*Says Nigeria fails to prosecute perpetrators of violence related to blasphemy

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) at the weekend, in a report, stressed that religious freedoms were constantly being trampled upon in Nigeria.
USCIRF said the report provided an update on continuing systematic and ongoing restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria.
It said several states in Nigeria were currently enforcing blasphemy laws to prosecute members of faith-based groups, including Christians, Muslims, and secular humanists.

In the 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF said, “The government also continues to tolerate egregious violence against religious groups by non-state actors, such as the Islamic State-West Africa Province (ISWAP), JAS/Boko Haram, and other extremist groups.
“This violence affects large numbers of Christians and Muslims in several states across Nigeria and targets both religious sites and individuals from religious communities.”

USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State should designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for engaging in what it said was a systematic, ongoing, and egregious violation of religious freedom.

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the US Congress to monitor, analyse, and report on religious freedom abroad.
It makes foreign policy recommendations to the US president, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief.

The organisation is chaired by Stephen Schneck, while Eric Ueland is the vice chair.
Stressing that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution stated that the federal and state governments could not adopt an official religion, USCIRF stated that at the same time, the constitution permitted the use of Shari’a and traditional law courts for non-criminal proceedings at the state level, but did not compel all citizens to abide by them.

It stated that currently, 12 states in northern Nigeria, along with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had implemented Shari’a legal frameworks and some were applying Shari’a in criminal cases.

USCIRF stated in the report, “Sharía codes prohibit blasphemy and other offences based on Islamic law, as interpreted by each state’s high court. Shari’a courts utilise a religiously grounded penal code, including for serious criminal offenses, and specify punishments, such as caning, amputation, and stoning.
“The Nigerian government continues to imprison individuals accused of blasphemy and often fails to pursue perpetrators of violence related to blasphemy allegations.”

The US commission stated that Nigerian authorities arrested humanist Mubarak Bala in 2020 on blasphemy charges over a Facebook post considered insulting to Islam. It said in 2022, the Kano State High Court sentenced him to 24 years in prison.
USCIRF said in February 2024, Kano State Court of Appeal granted Bala’s appeal, and in May the court sentenced him to five years.
In another instance, USCIRF said Sufi Muslim Yahava Sharif-Amina had remained imprisoned since 2022 for sharing audio messages deemed “insulting to the religious creed”.

The report added that the Nigerian authorities arrested Sufi Sheikh Abduljabar Nasiru Kabaru for blasphemy in 2021 and sentenced him to death in 2022, stressing that he remains in prison.
USCIRF stated, “The government arrested Muslim Ismaila Sani lsah on blasphemy charges in 2021 and he remains in prison as well. Sufi cleric Abdulazeez Inyass, arrested in 2015 on blasphemy charges, remains in prison and is facing a death sentence.

“Authorities released Christian Rhoda Jatau from prison on bail in December 2023 but she still faces charges of ‘inciting public disturbance’ and ‘contempt of religious creed’ after her arrest in May 2022.

“Nigeria’s government at both the federal and state levels continue to tolerate attacks by non-state actors who testify their violence on religious grounds. Islamist and some Fulani militant groups have expressed a goal of overthrowing secular governance with the intention of enforcing a singular interpretation of Islam.”
The report disclosed that approximately 30,000 Fulani bandits operated in several groups in North-west Nigeria, with groups consisting of anywhere from 10 to 1,000 members.

It said, “These groups engage in violence and banditry targeting predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria and generally pose the greatest security threat in North-west Nigeria.
“This activity includes kidnapping, rape, property and cattle theft, illegal possession of weapons, and murder. The specific perpetrators of and motivation behind individual attacks can be difficult to verify.”

The report said attacks in the North-west, North-east, and central regions of Nigeria had significantly restricted freedom of religion or belief, particularly for the predominantly Christian communities there.

It said, “Fulani-associated banditry, which has been occurring for years, has evolved into a transnational security dilemma. The conflict is magnified by competition for natural resources between often-Christian farmers and often-Muslim Fulani animal herders.

“In 2024, the conflict drastically affected food production and regional trade and fomented illegal bandit-enforced taxation campaigns that victimised primarily Christian farmers.”

The commission added that Fulani bandits also carried out kidnappings to extort ransom money from middle or working-class families.

It said, “In several cases, they have kidnapped students from Christian schools or from buses taking children to these schools. Gangs generally release hostages unharmed if families meet ransom demands.

“Victims’ families have criticised the government for being slow in responding to and rescuing kidnapping victims. They also criticise the government’s failure to prevent such kidnappings.

“Nigeria’s president has requested victims’ families not pay ransom demands to discourage further crimes. President Bola Tinubu has also promised the government will utilise more ‘detailed strategies’ in response to the kidnappings, without elaborating what those strategies would entail.”