Abuja:

A Nigerian Christian evangelist who was accused of abducting a 17-year-old Christian convert got acquitted by a northeast Nigerian court. The act of the evangelist to move the converted girl to a safe location as she was facing death threats from her family for converting to Christianity, led to the charge. The conversion of the Muslim girl was followed by an encounter with the evangelist in 2018. 

ADF International allied attorneys proved the innocence of the Evangelist in the Nigerian court by establishing that the life-saving assistance provided to the girl was not a crime. Following the victory at the court they posted on X, “This is an incredible victory for religious freedom in Nigeria. Christian converts from Islam in Nigeria are often denied the ability to live out their faith due to credible threats and targeted attacks against them.” 

“We are hopeful that this important decision will help others facing similar threats because of their Christian beliefs,” posted the legal counsel for ADF International Sean Nelson on X following the court ruling.According to the 2023 Open Doors report Christians face severe persecution in Nigeria. It said that “Christians from a Muslim background also face rejection from their own families, pressure to give up Christianity, and often physical violence.”

A recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Nigeria found that the freedom of religion in the country is affected by the violence and atrocities which includes “militant Islamist violence, some forms of identity-based violence, mob violence, and criminal, political, and vigilante violence impacting worship.”