The Neighborhood Court docket of Justice of the {Economic} Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) dominated that Kano stateâs blasphemy legal guidelines contravened worldwide human rights obligations.
In a landmark case filed by the Included Trustees of Expression Now Human Rights Initiative towards the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the court docket unanimously held that provisions in Kano stateâs penal and Sharia penal codes violated Nigeriaâs commitments beneath worldwide human rights frameworks.
Key provisionsâPart 210 of the Penal Code and Part 382(b) of the Sharia Penal Codeâhad been criticised for his or her vagueness and extreme penalties, together with loss of life sentences for alleged insults to faith.
The three-member judicial panel, led by President Justice Ricardo Gonçalves and comprising Justice Sengu Koroma and Justice Dupe Atoki, dominated that these legal guidelines infringed upon the precise to freedom of expression as assured by Article 9(2) of the African Constitution on Human and Peoplesâ Rights and Article 19 of the Worldwide Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Part 210 was deemed to lack authorized readability, whereas Part 382(b) prescribing the loss of life penalty for blasphemy was discovered disproportionate in a democratic society.
Though the court docket acknowledged the necessity for states to keep up public order and respect spiritual sensibilities, it emphasised that these pursuits should align with individualsâ basic rights.
The court docket ordered the Nigerian authorities to repeal or amend the offending authorized provisions to adjust to worldwide human rights requirements.
The ruling clarified the courtâs jurisdiction, declaring the applying admissible solely on issues regarding freedom of expression.
The applicant highlighted severe human rights violations stemming from the enforcement of blasphemy legal guidelines, together with arbitrary arrests, extended detentions, and vigilante violence leading to mob killings.
Whereas the court docket discovered no enough proof to show Nigeriaâs failure to forestall such violence, it burdened that the legal guidelines themselves had inspired these violations.
Kano stateâs blasphemy legal guidelines, embedded in its Penal and Sharia Penal Codes, have been a topic of intense debate.
These legal guidelines prescribe extreme penalties, together with the loss of life sentence for blasphemy, and have confronted criticism for infringing on freedom of expression and inspiring vigilante violence.
NewsWatch.com.ng earlier reported that Rhoda Jatau, a Nigerian Christian and mom of 5, has been totally acquitted after spending 19 months in jail on blasphemy fees.
Jatau was arrested in Might 2022 for allegedly sharing a “blasphemous” video on WhatsApp that condemned the homicide of Nigerian Christian school scholar Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, who had been stoned to loss of life by her Muslim classmates.
The incident led to a mob attacking Jatau’s neighborhood, after which she was charged beneath sections 114 (public disturbance) and 210 (spiritual insult) of the Bauchi State Penal Code.
Supply: NewsWatch.com.ng
