On September 17, a pastor and dozens from his congregation were kidnapped from a Christian church in northwest Nigeria. Less than a week before, fifty-seven Christians were kidnapped at another church in a north-central state. In fact, the last few years have shown a marked increase in attacks and abductions in the country of both Christian church members and their clergy.
On August 17, a Nigerian federal appeals court ruled that Islamic Sharia (law) does not violate the country’s secular constitution in a two-to-one decision. It was also decided that Sharia courts have jurisdiction over blasphemy cases.
Dozens of people held captive in the basement of a church in Nigeria were freed by the police. They were waiting for their ascend to heaven after the second coming of Jesus Christ, as preached by the pastors responsible for the abduction.
A 70-year-old man and two other gay men were sentenced to death by stoning in Bauchi, Nigeria. The accused were charged and convicted for engaging in acts of homosexuality. They were arrested by the religious police force of the state on June 14.
A Muslim mob burned a 30-year-old Nigerian man to death in the capital of Abuja on June 4.
The murder of Ahman Usman, a security officer in The Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Abuja's Lugbe area, was allegedly accused of blasphemy. This sensitive issue recently resulted in violent incidents in the country. The Vigilante Group assists the local police in community matters.
Back in April, Humanists International wrote an online open letter to Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje regarding the unjust conviction and sentencing of Atheist activist Mubarak Bala. The open letter still welcomes signatures to show support and gather more attention.
On May 12, 2022, Sokoto State Police in northern Nigeria announced that they’d apprehended two suspects for the murder of Deborah Samuel after a riot started against her where a mob beat her to death and burned her body.
On April 2, Mubarak Bala pleaded guilty to blasphemy charges for posting social media posts that caused a public disturbance “due to their blasphemous content.” He was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his alleged crime.
On Tuesday, February 1, Mubarak Bala appeared for the first time after his arrest at the High Court of the state of Kano in Nigeria, almost two years after his arrest. Kano is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria and was arrested on April 25, 2020.
