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Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom with ADF International
UPDATE 19 December 2024: Following a two-and-a-half-year legal ordeal, a judge in Bauchi State, Nigeria, acquitted Rhoda Jatau of “blasphemy” charges. If convicted, Rhoda faced up to five years in prison. She spent 19 months in prison before being released on bail for allegedly sharing a blasphemous video that condemned the lynching of Christian college student Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu.
The gospels tell us that Christians should expect to be persecuted for their faith. However, many people are surprised when they hear about the large amount of persecution facing Christians around the world today. Over 365 million Christians experienced “high levels of persecution and discrimination” worldwide in 2023.
But one country in particular, Nigeria, is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. In 2022, roughly 5,000 Christians were murdered for their faith – more than the number killed in all other countries combined. For 2023, one estimate put the number of Christians targeted and killed in Nigeria at over 7,000.
The severe Christian persecution in Nigeria, particularly in the northern regions, makes it the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. I recently travelled to Nigeria and saw the effects of persecution firsthand. Let me share them with you:
Thankfully, ADF International works to stop this relentless persecution of Christians in Nigeria. We work with local allied lawyers to oppose the country’s egregious blasphemy laws and get Christians out of Islamic Sharia courts. We help Christian converts escape from violence and threats and protect Christian ministries targeted for their work.
And we work at the highest levels of governments around the world to put pressure on Nigeria to stop persecuting Christians. For example, this includes advocating for Nigeria’s placement on the United States government watchlist of the worst countries in the world for religious freedom violations.
I’ve met with the victims of Christian persecution and religious freedom violations in Nigeria. They have great faith in the face of such hardship. I recently travelled to Nigeria and saw the effects of persecution firsthand.
Because Nigeria is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians, the persecuted face targeted violence and death from terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Muslim Fulani militias. Terrorist groups like these are responsible for thousands of killed Christians every year. Christian villages are burned, and villagers are left with mass graves, many orphaned children, and scars from attacks. I witnessed this destruction with my own eyes when I visited Nigeria.
Pastors and churches are particularly targeted, even on holy days like Christmas and Pentecost.
Northern Nigeria is also one of only seven places in the world where you can get the death penalty for alleged blasphemy. Northern Nigeria’s blasphemy laws are contained in its Islamic Sharia law, and they call for death for people who allegedly “insult” Islam. And so, these laws harm both Christians and minority Muslims and lead to horrifying instances of mob violence. Many Nigerian Christians have been killed by these mobs based on blasphemy accusations because they loved Christ.
Even those who condemn this mob violence face blasphemy trials, like Christian mother Rhoda Jatau. She was similarly accused of blasphemy, and a mob ransacked her neighborhood.
Christians in Nigeria, particularly in the northern half of the country, face some of the most difficult circumstances for Christians in the world. Northern Nigeria is majority Muslim and increasing Islamic extremism from terrorist groups like Boko Haram and other militants like Muslim Fulani militias have led to greater Christian persecution. Boko Haram explicitly wants to murder, kidnap, and subjugate Christians in Nigeria.
Christian converts face an especially hard time because their family, friends, and community will often threaten and attack them for converting. I’ve met these converts who fled their homelands for safety.
Churches face discrimination, false accusations, and destruction. In fact, one evangelist named Daniel Kefee was charged with kidnapping for helping a young Christian convert woman find safety. With our support, local allied lawyers were able to free him and win his case.
Islamic Sharia law has also spread throughout the northern Nigerian states, leading to increasing persecution of Christians. Sharia law inspires hostility and mob violence against Christians in Nigeria. And even though Christians are not supposed to be subject to Sharia law, they are regularly hauled before Sharia courts on false accusations. Obtaining lawyers for these Christians in Nigeria is necessary for them to be saved from the application of Sharia law and its courts.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has long recommended that Nigeria be placed on the U.S. government’s watch list of the worst countries in the world for religious freedom. We strongly agree with this recommendation. But the U.S. State Department under the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the government watch list in 2021 without any clear reason.
The decision was outrageous. Certainly, the most dangerous country in the world for Christians should be recognized and designated that way by the U.S. government. These long-suffering Nigerian Christians deserve to have the international community on their side.
The blasphemy laws in Nigeria especially contribute to the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. Here are two examples of which my Global Religious Freedom team works on today:
We’re supporting the case of one young man, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who is a Sufi Muslim musician charged with blasphemy for sharing song lyrics over WhatsApp. A mob burnt down his home, and he was convicted and sentenced to death in 2020 without a lawyer.
Thankfully, his conviction was overturned, but he was sent back to the Sharia Court to be retried under the same death penalty blasphemy law. We support his appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to overturn the egregious blasphemy law. When I spoke to Yahaya in prison, one of his greatest pains was not being able to see his parents since his arrest.
Rhoda was put in prison for 19 months during a trial where she was charged with blasphemy for allegedly sending a WhatsApp message condemning mob violence against Christians. She could only occasionally speak with a lawyer and see her family while imprisoned.
Thankfully, with our support and international advocacy, she was released on bail. In December 2024, following a two-and-a-half-year legal ordeal, a judge in Bauchi State, Nigeria, acquitted Rhoda Jatau of “blasphemy” charges. If convicted, Rhoda faced up to five years in prison. I met and spoke with Rhoda, and the anguish of being separated from her family while imprisoned was very difficult. Remarkably, her faith in Christ has been strengthened.
Christian persecution won’t stop in Nigeria unless we all take a stand against it. That’s why we raise the alarm over the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. We advocate at the highest levels of government for the recognition of this persecution. We support allied lawyers who take cases to protect these persecuted Christians and end blasphemy laws.
Because of the danger here facing Christians, the persecuted face targeted violence and death from terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Muslim Fulani militias.
Victims living in the most dangerous country in the world for Christians have heartbreaking stories. But their faith is inspiring. So, we should make every effort to stand with them and stop the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Bolivian Catholic Conference of Bishops challenges government’s forced closure of their teachers college.
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HELSINKI (21 May 2024) – Former government minister and sitting Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen has submitted her defence to the Finnish Supreme Court ahead standing trial a third time for her Bible-verse tweet.
The State prosecutor appealed the case despite the Christian grandmother of 12 being acquitted unanimously of “hate speech” charges before both the Helsinki District Court, and the Court of Appeal. The charges are found under the “war crimes and crimes against humanity” section of the Finnish Criminal Code.
Commenting on the submission of her defence, Räsänen said:
“The heart of the trial is the question of whether teachings linked to the Bible can be displayed and agreed with. I consider it a privilege and an honour to defend freedom of expression, which is a core right in a democratic state.
An acquittal by the Supreme Court would serve as a stronger precedent than lower court rulings for subsequent similar charges. It would provide a clearer and stronger safeguard for the freedom of Christians to present the teachings of the Bible – and it would strengthen the principle of freedom of expression in general.”
The Bible on Trial
Police investigations against Räsänen started in June 2019. As an active member of the Finnish Lutheran church, she had addressed the leadership of her church on Twitter/X and questioned its official sponsorship of the LGBT event ‘Pride 2019’, accompanied by an image of Bible verses from the New Testament book of Romans.
Following this tweet, further investigations against Räsänen were launched, going back to a church pamphlet Räsänen wrote 20 years ago, based on the text “male and female he created them.”
“This was not just about my opinions, but about everyone's freedom of expression. I hope that with the ruling of the Supreme Court, others would not have to undergo the same ordeal."
Police investigations against Räsänen started in June 2019. As an active member of the Finnish Lutheran church, she had addressed the leadership of her church on Twitter/X and questioned its official sponsorship of the LGBT event ‘Pride 2019’, accompanied by an image of Bible verses from the New Testament book of Romans.
Following this tweet, further investigations against Räsänen were launched, going back to a church pamphlet Räsänen wrote 20 years ago, based on the text “male and female he created them.”
Over several months, Räsänen endured a total of thirteen hours of police interrogations about her Christian beliefs – including being frequently asked by the police to explain her understanding of the Bible.
A “chilling effect” on religious freedom
Her legal team, backed by ADF International, have submitted to the court that the case should be dismissed and costs to be awarded to Räsänen.
The defence argue that Räsänen has the right to freedom of expression in international law, and that so-called hate speech laws do not extinguish that right.
The defence have further highlighted the fact that Räsänen has consistently underlined that all people have dignity and should not be discriminated against – inconsistent with the behaviour of somebody guilty of spreading “hate”.
The submission from the defence reads:
“Vague or far-reaching laws against advocacy of hatred, or blasphemy, offence to religious feelings and similar offences are not only arbitrary; they can also lead to the direct and structural marginalization of religious or belief communities.”
The parliamentarian’s case will again be heard alongside Bishop Juhana Pohjola, who faces charges for publishing Räsänen’s pamphlet two decades ago.
Their cases have garnered global media attention, as human rights experts voiced concern over the threat posed to free speech in Finland.
To find out more about the case, and to contribute to Päivi’s legal defence, click here.
Lorcan Price, Irish Barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International, supporting Räsänen’s legal defence said:
“This is a watershed case in the story of Europe’s creeping censorship. In a democratic Western nation in 2024, nobody should be on trial for their faith – yet throughout the prosecution of Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola, we have seen something akin to a ‘heresy’ trial, where Christians are dragged through court for holding beliefs that differ from the approved orthodoxy of the day.
The state’s insistence on continuing this prosecution after almost five long years, despite such clear and unanimous rulings from the lower courts is alarming. The process is the punishment in such instances, resulting in a chill on free speech for all citizens observing. ADF International will continue to stand alongside Räsänen and Pohjola every step of the way as they face their next day in court. Their right to speak freely is everyone’s right to speak freely.”
United Nations experts call for the immediate and unconditional release of Nigerian Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.
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Federal appellate court in Mexico sides with Querétaro Catholic Diocese following demands to change transgender-identifying individual’s sex on years-old baptismal record.
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Christian convert and Pastor Youssef Ourahamane’s conviction and prison sentence upheld for the so-called crime of “illegal worshipping” for leading his church.
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