- House Foreign Affairs Committee moves forward with Nigeria Resolution, calling on Biden Admin to designate country as a Country of Particular Concern for its religious freedom violations, especially those targeting Christians.
- ADF International supporting legal defence of Nigerians Yahaya Sharif-Aminu and Rhoda Jatau, both persecuted under Nigeria’s egregious blasphemy laws targeting religious minorities.
WASHINGTON, DC (7 February 2024) The U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday voted to move forward with H. Res. 82, a House resolution calling for greater U.S. action in response to the religious freedom crisis in Nigeria. The House resolution, which can be read in full here, calls on the U.S. Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on their list of worst religious freedom offenders for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom,” while also highlighting religious prisoners of conscience and the egregious blasphemy laws in Nigeria.
The U.S. State Department released its annual religious freedom watchlist earlier this year, leaving Nigeria off the list for the third year in a row. The failure of the State Department to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern came just after at least 200 Christians were murdered for their faith in Plateau State, Nigeria, over Christmas.
“We are pleased that this critical resolution on Nigeria will be moving forward for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Sean Nelson, Legal Counsel, Global Religious Freedom for ADF International. “Following the Biden Administration’s repeated failure to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern despite widespread outcry, we are grateful to the members of Congress who are taking these vital steps to increase pressure on Nigeria for its egregious violations of religious freedom. No person should be persecuted for their faith, and it is imperative that the U.S. government condemn the targeted violence, unjust imprisonments, and egregious blasphemy laws that plague Christians and religious minorities in Nigeria.”
The congressional resolution follows a letter from ADF International and other religious freedom experts and organizations that called on Congress to take greater actions to protect religious freedom in Nigeria, which was entered into the Congressional Record by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). Representative Smith’s remarks on religious freedom in Nigeria from yesterday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee markup can be seen here.
Blasphemy Law in Nigeria
ADF International is supporting the defence of Rhoda Jatau, a Christian and mother of five from Nigeria. Jatau, who was recently granted bail, had been imprisoned since May 2022 for allegedly sharing a video on WhatsApp condemning the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Nigerian university student who was murdered and set on fire by a mob of her classmates in May 2022 for sharing her Christian faith. Rhoda is currently awaiting the continuation of her trial.
The cases of Rhoda Jatau and Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu are but two examples of the widespread violence against religious minorities, especially Christians, in Northern Nigeria.
Together with other religious minorities in Nigeria, the persecution of Christians in Nigeria is especially severe. Worldwide, over 5,500 Christians were killed for their faith in 2022. Of those, 90% were Nigerian.
The criminalisation of blasphemy in Nigeria carries with it dangerous implications for the country as a whole. In a country of more than 200 million, split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, blasphemy laws are a significant driver of societal tensions. These laws punish the innocent for expressing their beliefs, silence people from sharing their faith, and perpetuate societal violence. Blasphemy laws throughout Nigeria encourage brutal mob violence and inflict severe harm on minority Muslims, Christian converts, and others.
ADF International also is supporting the legal defence of Nigerian musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim who was sentenced to death by hanging for sharing song lyrics that were deemed “blasphemous” on WhatsApp. With the support of ADF International, Yahaya is appealing his case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the hopes of overturning the death penalty blasphemy laws in Nigeria. Yahaya, imprisoned for over three and a half years, is awaiting his appeal. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu’s case is highlighted in H. Res. 82.
Yahaya’s case has garnered attention from religious freedom advocates from across the globe, including from UK members of parliament and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Fiona Bruce, who this week raised Yahaya’s case in a Westminster Hall Parliamentary debate.
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more
Repeated efforts for justice
ADF International, together with other human rights organizations and experts, has long urged the State Department to put Nigeria back on the CPC list.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called the removal of Nigeria’s CPC designation by the State Department “appalling” and “inexplicable”. Furthermore, the USCIRF recommended the State Department place Nigeria on the CPC list in its most recent Annual Report.
The State Department listed Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. In addition, the State Department designated Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam as Special Watch List countries for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.
