A Christian Stoned to Death for ‘Blasphemy’ in Nigeria — When Will It End?

L ast week in Sokoto, Nigeria, a young Christian university student was stoned, beaten, and burnt to death by a mob over allegations of “blasphemy.”  The mob accused her, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, of insulting the Prophet Mohammed in a WhatsApp classroom discussion group. Some of her classmates were outraged after Yakubu thanked Jesus for helping her in an exam. To the mob, the accusation of blasphemy justified murdering her.

Videos of the attack immediately began circulating on social media in Nigeria and worldwide. Against the background of an upcoming and contentious election in 2023 and of widespread kidnappings and terrorist and militant attacks in Northern Nigeria, the horrific murder of Yakubu is generating national uproar.

Unfortunately, some in Nigeria continue to defend the attacks. Violent protesters in Sokoto vandalized and set fire to Catholic churches on Saturday while calling for the release of Yakubu’s suspected attackers. In Maiduguri, another young Christian woman is facing calls for vigilante mob violence after being accused of posting blasphemy on social media.

The world should know and remember Deborah Yakubu’s name. She was a young woman aspiring to obtain a good education, brutally killed because a mob didn’t like what she said. “May God grant her eternal rest and console her immediate family,” said Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.

But Deborah is only the latest victim of the blasphemy laws that exist throughout Northern Nigeria, enforced by sharia courts. The laws violate the human rights to freedom of speech and religion guaranteed under international law, and they encourage horrific mob violence against religious minorities. As in Pakistan, for example, mob violence in Nigeria is often coordinated quickly through social-media networks to target individuals accused of blasphemy.

Many people in the West are familiar with Boko Haram, the terrorist group that has tormented Northeast Nigeria for over a decade. Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State–West Africa Province, are responsible for the kidnapping of girls including Leah Sharibu. Sharibu was kidnapped in 2018. She has never been released because she refuses to deny her Christian faith. She turned nineteen on May 14, still in captivity.

The organization I work for, ADF International, supports Nigerian lawyers working tirelessly to get Christians out of the sharia court system. It’s a matter of life or death. Under sharia law, Christians in Nigeria can face the penalty of death for everything from blasphemy and apostasy to escaping forced marriages.

In Northern Nigeria, Christians are a minority. Other religious minorities are also severely threatened. Mubarak Bala, a humanist, was recently sentenced to 24 years of prison by the Kano State High Court, based on allegedly “blasphemous” Facebook posts from 2020. In the same jurisdiction, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi singer, was sentenced to death by hanging, for blasphemy. Citing procedural irregularities, the High Court remanded and overturned his conviction in January 2021, but he still is fighting to stop a retrial.

Mob murder based on blasphemy allegations has occurred for decades in Nigeria. Just last year, Talle Mai Ruwa, a water vendor in Bauchi State, was beaten to death and burnt for alleged blasphemy.

The laws both allow and encourage a culture of violence in a country increasingly riven by so many tensions. While most Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities simply wish to live in peace, a minority of extremists find cover under the laws. Spotty government action against attackers compounds the crisis.

While cases sometimes catch the attention of an international audience, all too often the West has been inclined to ignore the severe violations of religious freedom that are a regular feature of life in Nigeria, especially in the North. The International Criminal Court has dragged its feet on its investigations and prosecutions of atrocities committed in Nigeria. The court’s prosecutor has been heavily criticized after cozying up to the Nigerian government in a visit to the country last month.

Exacerbating the lack of action, the U.S. State Department, without explanation, last year removed Nigeria from its list of countries “of particular concern,” despite the egregious, systematic, and ongoing violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said it was “appalled” at the State Department’s decision and reiterated its criticism when in April it released its annual report on the worst violators of religious freedom.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly half of all terrorism deaths. In just the first three months of this year, nearly 900 Christians have already been killed in violent attacks. One top analyst has called Nigeria a failed state.

It is time to pay heed to the immense suffering of the people of Nigeria. How many more will languish in prison, be burned to death, or beheaded before the international community stands up in defense of the vast majority of Nigerians who want peace?

The Nigerians I know, including religious and social leaders, still have hope and spend their days working for peace. It is vital that the international community provide them with the support they need to succeed.