Abuja:

A Nigerian healthcare worker from Bauchi State has been set free following a torturous 18 months of imprisonment for condemning the killing of Samuel Deborah in Sokoto State. Rhoda Jatau was released on bail on Friday after the intervention of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria.

In May 2022, Jatau was taken into custody by Department of State Services agents following her posting of a video in which she denounced the lynching of Deborah Samuel, a Christian college student, who had been falsely convicted of blasphemy by radical Islamic groups in Sokoto. Samuel sent a voice message to her classmates on WhatsApp that some of them thought was disrespectful to the Prophet Muhammad. Following that, anonymous attackers reportedly tracked her down and killed her.

She faced multiple charges of inciting public disturbance, exciting contempt of religious creed, and cyberstalking. News about her arrest and extended detention spread around the world, prompting the United Nations and groups like Christian Solidarity International to voice their concerns. They argued that Jatau's imprisonment violated her basic rights to freedom of speech, religion, and belief.

Jatau has been repeatedly denied bail. The denial of bail, according to the UN and CSI, not only limits her freedom but also calls into question the justice and proportionality of the legal actions brought against her.

Nigeria has a long history of violent riots and mob deaths motivated by accusations of blasphemy against Islam. The population of Nigeria is divided approximately between the north, where Muslims predominate, and the south, where Christians do. It is illegal in the nation to ridicule religion, notwithstanding the constitution's guarantee of the freedoms of speech, conscience, and opinion. Blasphemy is illegal under Sharia, or Islamic law, which is in effect in Sokoto and the other 12 northern states of the nation. Sharia courts have sentenced those found guilty of blasphemy to death, and the government has placed people under house arrest.