By Ezinwanne Onwuka
In northern Nigeria, a word against Islam can cost you your life. The 2022 killing of Deborah Emmanuel (Yakubu), a Christian student in Sokoto State, brought global attention to the harsh realities of these laws. Deborah was murdered by a jihadist mob after she posted a message in her college WhatsApp group, thanking Jesus for helping her to pass an exam. They accused her of insulting Islam, beat her, stoned her, and burned her body.
Two men were arrested but charged only with “public disturbance” and quietly released on bail. Nearly two years later, no one has been held accountable. Deborah’s cousin, Asabe Sabitu, stood with Deborah at the blasphemy murder and barely escaped being murdered herself. Only Catholic News Agency reported this aspect of the murder. Sabitu was forced to flee Sokoto and now lives in hiding.
Blasphemy laws, enforced under Sharia (Islamic) law in 12 northern Nigerian states — Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara — prescribe severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Sharia law operates within Nigeria’s dual legal system: the Penal Code in the northern states and the Criminal Code in the southern states. While Section 204 of the Criminal Code criminalizes insults to other people’s religion with a two-year prison term, Sharia-based laws go much further.
Now, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc of which Nigeria is one of the founders, has stepped in. Its Community Court of Justice recently ruled that Nigeria must reform or repeal its blasphemy laws, especially in Kano State. The court found that these laws violate freedom of expression guaranteed under international human rights agreements.
The ruling singled out Section 210 of the Kano State Penal Code and Section 382(b) of the Kano State Sharia Penalty Code Law, both of which call for the death penalty for blasphemy, as “excessive and disproportionate in a democratic society.”
Despite the court’s clear directive, Kano State has rejected the ruling. “The laws reflect the unique moral and religious fabric of our people,” said Ibrahim Waiya, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs. “They are a reflection of our people’s will” and “will remain firmly in place.”
The ruling comes four months after the release of Mubarak Bala, an atheist and the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria. He spent more than four years in prison for a Facebook post deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad and Islam in general.
Human-rights and religious-freedom advocates have praised ECOWAS’s intervention. “It is unreasonable for any state to enforce religious laws that undermine the constitution and freedom in a country that thrives on its pluralism,” said Adekunle James of Rivers in the Desert Nigeria.
John Samuel, a legal expert with Open Doors, welcomed the ruling. “The Nigerian government should take the necessary steps to repeal or amend the blasphemy laws, in accordance with this ruling,” he said. The Christian Association of Nigeria has also backed the ECOWAS court, urging Kano State to comply.
Sean Nelson, legal counsel for global religious freedom at ADF International, described the ECOWAS Court’s decision as “a landmark moment for international law in Africa.”
Speaking to TruthNigeria, Nelson said: “Nigerian officials should abide by the decision, repeal these laws, and release prisoners of conscience such as Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who face the death penalty merely because of their peaceful religious expression.”
Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim musician, was sentenced to death by hanging in August 2020 by an Upper Sharia Court in Kano after being convicted of blasphemy in a song he shared on WhatsApp, which some considered insulting to Prophet Muhammad. His case drew widespread international condemnation and is still under appeal at Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
Kola Alapinni, a Nigerian international human rights lawyer who represents Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, praised the ECOWAS ruling.
“This decision by the ECOWAS court proves that we were right all along on Yahaya Sharif-Aminu’s case. Now, the Supreme Court of Nigeria needs to strike down these egregious and obnoxious blasphemy laws and set Yahaya free. By implication, it means that everyone charged under S.382(b) of the Kano State Penal Code Laws, 2000 must be set free immediately,” he told TruthNigeria.
Nigeria’s federal government has yet to respond formally.
Ezinwanne Onwuka is a feature writer for TruthNigeria.
