Boko Haram Trials Ineffective, Flawed

The Nigerian authorities’ prosecution of Boko Haram suspects does not advance justice for serious international crimes, as the cases continue to target primarily low-level suspects and raise significant fair trial concerns, Human Rights Watch said today.

On April 8, 2026, the Nigerian authorities began the ninth phase of terrorism trials involving more than 500 defendants. The tenth phase began on June 15 with about 600 defendants. Lower-level suspects accused of offenses related to providing material support to armed groups, such as Boko Haram, dominate the court’s docket, while prosecution of those most responsible for serious international crimes are not being prioritized. The judicial proceedings also appear to be based on evidence insufficient to justify criminal convictions. Human Rights Watch raised similar concerns in 2018.

“Nigerian authorities should hold those responsible for atrocities by Boko Haram and security forces to account, but they repeatedly prosecute people with tenuous connections to the most serious crimes in trials that don’t deliver justice,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Prosecutions should target higher level offenders and meet fair trial standards to ensure accountability for atrocities by both sides.”

The recent phases of the trials were held at the Federal High Court in Abuja from April 8 to 11 and June 15 to 18, with 10 judges hearing cases simultaneously in separate courtrooms. Human Rights Watch observed proceedings in five of these courtrooms on April 9 and 10 and June 17 and 18, monitored reporting on the trials, and interviewed a government official involved in the proceedings. Human Rights Watch also wrote to relevant government institutions involved in the trials, including the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, seeking responses to questions and concerns about the trials. The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and the director of public prosecution, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Justice, have responded.

In its response to Human Rights Watch, the director of public prosecutions said that Nigeria's approach to prosecutions aims to balance the need to confront “terrorism” with the imperative to “preserve the constitutional rights of every person before the courts.” The response went on to emphasize that the office aims to prosecute support networks—including financing, logistics, recruitment, and material support—as part of what it calls “an internationally recognized strategy for disrupting and dismantling terrorist organizations.” The Legal Aid Council stated that it was dissatisfied with the convictions and sentences imposed by the courts in some cases during the ninth phase, and had appealed those decisions.

According to media reports, during the 4 days of trial hearings in April, the judges found 386 defendants guilty of terrorism-related crimes, including participation in Boko Haram attacks on civilians, and ordered sentences ranging from 5 years to life in prison. The judges discharged eight defendants in cases in which the director of public prosecutions, in his response, indicated that continuing the prosecutions would not serve the interests of justice and acquitted two others. The court adjourned 112 other cases until June.

During the June proceedings, the court heard cases involving 490 defendants on the first day and an additional 84 on the second day, according to media reports.

Twenty-five of the cases that Human Rights Watch observed were linked to Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Human Rights Watch also observed 10 cases involving the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist movement in southeast Nigeria, and 2 other cases involving banditry-related offenses. Criminal groups commonly referred to as “bandits” operate mainly in the northwest and north central regions of Nigeria.

In 2017 and 2021, the Nigerian government issued terrorism proscription orders designating the activities of IPOB as “bandits” and “terrorism,” specifying that “any person … participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning … the [designated] groups … will be violating the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act … and liable to prosecution.”

In all cases Human Rights Watch observed, prosecutors did not present witnesses or circumstantial evidence to substantiate the alleged charges, which were in some cases ambiguous and lacking crucial information like the specific date and details of the alleged offense.

The director of public prosecutions, in his response, stated that a range of evidence is considered—including witness testimony, electronic and forensic evidence, military operational reports, financial records, documentary exhibits, and expert evidence—before terrorism charges are filed. However, none of these forms of evidence were presented in the cases Human Rights Watch observed, in which convictions were all based on defendants’ guilty pleas, with only confessional statements and investigation reports provided in some cases as supporting evidence.

Judges based the convictions primarily on guilty pleas with alleged confession statements, and investigation reports tendered by the prosecutors as supporting evidence in some cases. When defendants entered not guilty pleas, the prosecution was unable to substantiate the alleged charges and withdrew them. These charges were then struck without being tested in court, even in cases potentially including attacks resulting in civilian deaths.

The prosecution only proceeded with charges to which defendants pleaded guilty, typically related to providing material support to a designated “terrorist” group or failure to report information about members of the group or their activities to security forces. This pattern raises serious concerns about the credibility of these charges and whether Nigerian prosecutors had sufficient evidence to justify bringing or sustaining them in court.

Many defendants had already spent years in pretrial detention, some since 2016, which may amount to arbitrary detention, while some were arrested as recently as 2025.

Under Section 13 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, which criminalizes material or nonviolent support to terrorist groups, individuals face penalties of up to 20 years in prison. While Section 13 provides a legal basis for prosecution, its broad framing risks sweeping in individuals whose involvement may have been indirect or coerced, particularly those in conflict-affected areas.

Coupled with the serious fair trial concerns observed, including weak evidentiary basis for the criminal charges and concerns about the ability of defendants to mount an effective defense, these sentencing outcomes raise significant concerns about due process and the proportionality of harsh sentences for minor or tendentious allegations of material support, including when those actions may have been carried out under duress, Human Rights Watch said.

In some cases, defendants and their lawyers presented mitigation statements, including fear of harm to themselves or their families, or inability to report to authorities due to lack of access or security constraints. While these factors led to lesser sentences in some cases, they did not do so in others.

In December 2020, the former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the completion of her office’s preliminary examination into the situation in Nigeria, during which it assessed whether it would open a formal investigation. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor concluded that there was a reasonable basis to believe that members of Boko Haram and its splinter groups, as well as members of the Nigerian security forces, had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria since June 2011. However, at the time, the prosecutor decided not to request the judges’ authorization to open an investigation into the situation in Nigeria, including due to resource constraints.

As a court of last resort, the ICC only steps in when national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute serious crimes. In the years that followed, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor sought to constructively engage with the Nigerian authorities to ensure they delivered on their legal obligation to bring justice with respect to alleged international crimes in the country.

On March 26, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian government deferring to Nigeria’s primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute alleged serious international crimes before its domestic judicial system. The memorandum also stipulates the prosecutor’s office’s commitment to provide support to Nigerian authorities, including through continued encouragement and technical and strategy-related assistance.

Despite these commitments, the current domestic trials have yet to demonstrate the authorities’ genuine willingness and ability to address the pervasive impunity gap in the country, including for serious international crimes committed by the Nigerian security forces, as the focus of the proceedings so far has primarily been on Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other non-state actors.

The OTP should use its unique leverage and the commitments made under the memorandum to press Nigerian authorities to implement the necessary reforms in law and in practice to ensure the genuine investigation and prosecution of serious international crimes committed by all parties, Human Rights Watch said.

Nigerian authorities should ensure that all terrorism trials comply with international fair trial and due process standards, including basing prosecutions on credible and sufficient evidence, and guaranteeing adequate time and appropriate facilities to prepare a defense. They should amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act to narrow the scope of material support offenses, and ensure that people who acted under coercion or duress are not prosecuted or punished for providing support to armed groups. The amendments should further ensure that people who are unable to report terrorist activity safely, lack meaningful involvement in such activity, or are otherwise in vulnerable or coercive circumstances are not subject to disproportionate penalties for failing to report. The authorities should also establish a process to review and commute sentences imposed on people convicted despite acting under coercion.

“More than eight years after these trials began, recent proceedings continue to reflect substantive and procedural failures,” Ewang said. “If the Nigerian authorities are serious about delivering real justice, they should address these shortcomings, prioritize credible investigations into serious international crimes, and produce robust evidence that can withstand judicial review in fair and credible trials.”

Weak Evidentiary Standards and “Plea-Driven” Convictions

In the cases Human Rights Watch observed that were linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP, Justice Ministry prosecutors brought a range of charges related to association with the groups and their activities. These include membership in one of the groups, failure to report information about members of the group or their activities to security forces, and providing material or nonviolent support to the group.

Alleged material support offenses include paying a religious tax in the form of farm produce or farming; supplying essentials such as gasoline, firewood, rice, corn, seasonings, and other foodstuffs; rearing stolen cattle; purchasing agrochemicals for the group; transporting ammunition; acting as informants; recruiting; kidnapping; and receiving ransom payments. Some of these charges conflate serious allegations of support to proscribed groups with situations in which ordinary people may be coerced into providing resources. This raises serious concerns about whether some of the charges should be brought at all, Human Rights Watch said.

All defendants in the cases Human Rights Watch observed were represented by lawyers from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, a government-funded agency that provides legal assistance to indigent people. However, in its written response to Human Rights Watch’s questions and concerns, the Legal Aid Council stated that it provided legal representation to the majority of the defendants in line with its mandate to provide pro bono legal services, but noted that a small number of defendants in the trials were represented by private legal practitioners if they could afford to hire a lawyer.

In the trials that Human Rights Watch observed, prosecutors relied on guilty pleas rather than testing evidence through adversarial proceedings. In 26 of the 35 applicable cases, the prosecution asked the judge to strike out all charges to which the defendants had pleaded not guilty and proceeded to seek convictions only on the charges to which the defendants had pleaded guilty.

This pattern persisted even in cases that could include serious international criminal charges, such as attacks against a civilian population resulting in deaths, which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These cases raise concerns that prosecutors are either overcharging defendants to coerce them into pleading guilty to lesser offenses or are not making meaningful efforts to secure accountability for the most serious crimes.

In one case, the prosecution brought four charges against the defendant, including participation in a Boko Haram attack in Gwoza, Borno State; participation in an attack in Biu, Yobe State, with civilians allegedly killed in both attacks; membership in Boko Haram; and receiving weapons training to carry out acts of terrorism. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the two charges concerning participation in attacks against civilians which were broadly framed and lacked specific details about the defendant’s alleged conduct or role in the attacks. Following the not guilty pleas, the prosecution applied to withdraw those charges, and the court struck them out. The defendant was subsequently convicted on the remaining two charges to which he had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.

In one case in which an innocent plea resulted in charges being dropped, a defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges, including membership in Boko Haram, failure to report named individuals, and supplying goods such as gasoline and soft drinks. The prosecution then asked to adjourn the proceedings without presenting any evidence to challenge the plea. An official involved in the trials told Human Rights Watch that similar adjourned cases in earlier phases had not returned to court.

The proceedings also raised concerns about whether defendants were afforded a genuine opportunity to prepare and present a defense, even though in the proceedings that Human Rights Watch observed, the defense lawyers stated that they had met with the defendants prior to the trial to prepare their cases. The defense lawyers neither called witnesses nor presented evidence. Their role was mostly limited to appearing in court and, after the defendants pleaded guilty and were convicted, making brief statements to the judge asking for leniency before they were sentenced.

In the cases Human Rights Watch observed, defendants who pleaded guilty received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 80 years. Eighteen cases resulted in convictions for material support-related offenses, with sentences ranging from ten to thirty years. The defendant in a case involving 12 charges received several sentences, including 50 years for membership in and recruitment on behalf of Boko Haram, and 80 years for financing terrorism by receiving 50 thousand naira (approximately US$36) to further Boko Haram activities. In all cases, the court ordered to calculate the sentences retroactively from the date of arrest.

In another case, the prosecution brought four charges against the defendant, including membership in ISWAP in Okene, Ekiti State; receiving military training and weapons-handling instruction, including the use of AK-47 rifles; providing support to ISWAP during a 2021 prison break in Ekiti State; and attacking the Nigerian Navy using an AK-47 and other weapons.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges except the membership charge. The prosecution subsequently applied to strike out the remaining charges and urged the court to convict the defendant on the count to which he had pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison.

The only two cases observed by Human Rights Watch in which this pattern did not occur involved one charge against each defendant—membership in Boko Haram and concealment of information relating to material support for Boko Haram, respectively—to which the defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 years each.

Nigerian authorities operate a deradicalization, rehabilitation, and reintegration program known as Operation Safe Corridor for former Boko Haram and ISWAP affiliates classified as “low risk” or “repentant” insurgents. While judges did not specifically reference the program in their sentencing decisions, most of which included orders for deradicalization and rehabilitation before release, media reports indicate that individuals convicted in earlier phases of the trials were later transferred to Operation Safe Corridor for rehabilitation, deradicalization, and reintegration after completing their sentences.

Prosecuting ‘Material Support’ Risks Criminalizing Acts of Survival

The broad framing of “material support” offenses under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act risks criminalizing ordinary survival strategies in areas under Boko Haram or ISWAP control. Court proceedings did not appear to distinguish between voluntary collaboration and conduct carried out under coercion or duress, even in cases in which defendants or the defense lawyers indicated that their actions were not voluntary.

In three cases, defendants plead guilty, admitting to carrying out the alleged acts, saying that they had feared harm to themselves or their families, or were unable to report to authorities due to lack of access or security constraints. In 16 other cases, defendants or their lawyers gave these explanations as mitigating factors following guilty pleas and convictions. While these factors appeared to result in reduced sentences in some cases, they did not consistently do so.

This raises concerns about the effectiveness of legal representation, including whether defendants were adequately informed of the legal consequences of entering guilty pleas, and whether they were given sufficient time and opportunity to prepare and present a defense.

In one case, a defendant pleaded guilty to paying a religious tax to Boko Haram. When presenting mitigating statements before the defendant was sentenced, the defense counsel said that the payments were made under duress and because the defendant had no choice. The defendant was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison on that charge, to run concurrently with another 20-year sentence for failure to disclose information about Boko Haram members to security forces.

In another case, a defendant who had been detained since 2017 pleaded guilty to five charges of failure to disclose information about Boko Haram members, and not guilty to three other charges, including membership in Boko Haram. While pleading for leniency, he said that reporting Boko Haram activities to security officials was not possible because there were no security forces in his community. He was sentenced to 10 years on each count, to run concurrently from the date of his arrest.

One defendant was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to providing material support to Boko Haram by rearing goats for the group. While seeking leniency, the defense counsel said that rearing goats was the defendant’s primary source of livelihood and that he had been forced to work for Boko Haram after the group invaded his village.

Reduced Safeguards in the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2023

The Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2023, which amended and replaced the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, appears to have taken a more punitive approach. While the 2011 Act included a defense for individuals charged with failing to report terrorist activity if they could show they had a reasonable excuse, the 2023 Act removed that protection. It also failed to improve on the 2011 Act's broadly framed material support offenses by introducing an explicit defense for people who acted under coercion or duress, increasing the risk for victims of abuse to be prosecuted alongside those who intentionally assist terrorist groups.

Human Rights Watch

Nigeria to lead humanitarian response as UN support evolves

Nigeria plans to take on a bigger role in coordinating humanitarian responses inside the country, as it ​shifts away from a system led largely by international ‌donors and U.N. agencies, officials said on Tuesday.
The move was outlined at a joint transition workshop in the capital of Abuja, where the ​Nigerian government and the United Nations began talks ​on transferring greater responsibility for planning, coordination, and financing ⁠of operations to national institutions.

Nigeria's humanitarian minister Bernard Doro said ​the move was not a withdrawal of international support but ​a transition to government-led coordination that would continue to receive technical backing from the U.N. and other partners.

U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed ​Fall said the decision was not about reducing support, but ​to shift to a new model that takes advantage of more government ‌and ⁠private-sector funding to drive humanitarian response.

Donor funding has been under growing pressure globally, while Nigeria wants to strengthen its ability to respond to conflict, displacement, food insecurity, flooding, climate shocks ​and public health ​emergencies.

The U.N. ⁠has said nearly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger this year following the collapse ​of global aid budgets.

Doro said his ministry would work ​with ⁠federal and state authorities, aid agencies and affected communities to coordinate humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery efforts nationwide.

He said Nigeria aims ⁠to ​take the lead in developing its 2027 ​humanitarian plan, with technical support from OCHA and the wider U.N. system.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

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Nigeria EndSars protests: Police dragnet left this innocent man in prison for five years

 

Not listening to his mother cost 23-year-old Nigerian Rasheed Wasiu dearly – more than five years of his freedom for something he did not do.

Now released from prison, where he was stuck waiting for his trial as the judicial process crawled on, Rasheed has no idea where she is. His mother has gone missing.

In October 2020, she had told him not to go out as widespread anti-police brutality demonstrations, known as the End Sars protests, swept into his area of Lagos, Nigeria's bustling commercial heart.

People's anger was directed towards the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) accused of robbing, attacking and even killing innocent people.

The reaction of the security forces to the 2020 demonstrations was to reach a crescendo on the evening of 20 October, when officers opened fire on a group of protesters in the city.

But the protests had been building over the previous fortnight, with some turning violent, and the police along with a local vigilante group began responding by rounding up anyone they thought might be involved.

On the morning of 20 October, Rasheed, 17 at the time, was trying to get to a painting job with a friend in an area called Amukoko, but on their way they learnt that violence had broken out there and so turned around.

When he arrived home, his mother told him to "stay indoors" and not to "go outside because of the protests" that had by that point reached his neighbourhood.

But as a disobedient teenager he ignored her and stepped out on the street again.

Although he says he did not join the demonstration, members of the vigilante Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) caught him in their dragnet and bundled him into a van alongside weapon‑wielding protesters.

His mother and neighbours remonstrated with the OPC, insisting Rasheed was not part of the group, but their pleas were ignored.

He was first taken to an army barracks and then moved to a prison – Lagos's Kirikiri Correctional Centre – where he waited for his trial to start.

Rasheed says he was initially arrested on allegations that he had been involved in looting "but when I appeared in court, the offence on my charge sheet was 'unlawful possession of firearms'".

His experience and the charges chimed with many who were detained during the protests.

Speaking to the BBC, dressed in worn-out clothes and bathroom slippers, he sounds stressed and bitter as he recalls his incarceration.

"Jail is hell if you do not have money to ease your way through and cater for your needs," he says.

"The food is miserable; we get weak after eating. The space is really congested. They locked up to 70 people in a tiny room at a time. There is no good healthcare, but if you have money, you can have access to good food, a bed and proper medications.

"There was a time a young man died in my cell, his leg was just getting swollen." No-one had gone to help diagnose what was wrong.

Rasheed took on menial jobs to survive like washing clothes for inmates in exchange for a bit of cash or food. He also sold food items on behalf of prison staff, like cow skin, popularly known as "ponmo", and baked snacks. They would give him some of what he was selling or some money.

Months passed without his case being called. On the rare occasions when he was taken to court, his case was not mentioned. One of the lawyers who was representing Rasheed even died while he was in prison.

This state of purgatory continued for nearly six years.

However, at a hearing early last month, a judge at Lagos's high court struck out his case over a lack of evidence and Rasheed was set free.

The judge's ruling came after the intervention of an advocacy group known as the Take It Back Movement (TIB), which provides lawyers for free and fights for the release of people arrested during the End Sars protests as well as other demonstrations.

According to Nigeria's prison authorities, some 50,000 people are currently in detention in the country even though they are still awaiting trial - some 64% of the total prison population.

Human rights groups say that cases like Rasheed's - of people spending years in prison without being convicted of any offence - are not uncommon.

TIB's Lagos coordinator, Adekunle Taofeek, called the ruling on Rasheed's case "a significant milestone".

"This development reinforces our belief that persistence, solidarity and commitment to justice will always yield results."

TIB says it has managed to free 100 people who were detained during the End Sars protests.

Asked whether he planned to pursue legal action for the years he has lost, Rasheed responded: "No, I am leaving everything to God."

But Rasheed's joy at finally being released turned into another nightmare as, on returning home, he was unable to find his mother.

"People in my neighbourhood said they thought I was dead since they couldn't find me. I checked around for my mum but couldn't find her… neighbours told me she left the area because she was being threatened that she would be arrested as well."

He had only seen her once since his arrest, in the immediate aftermath of his detention when she followed him to the barracks where he was initially held.

On the following two days she returned with some food but was denied access.

He did not see her again.

Rasheed's neighbours could offer very little information about her whereabouts.

"When I asked… they said they did not know where she had moved to, but sometimes they see her when she passes by the market. They would greet her but she won't reply.

"They said my arrest caused her so much pain and tears."

Rasheed now lives with his mother's brother in another area of Lagos. They are both actively searching for his mother.

"I pray to God every day that I will see her, let me just come face to face with her," he says.

Rasheed's top priority is finding his mother but he is determined to rebuild his life after losing out on almost six precious years.

He says that before his arrest he was training to become a tailor and would have finished by now and set up his own business.

"Ever since I got out of prison, my neighbours have been the one[s] supporting me with food. But I don't want to be dependent on them, I wish to get a job and be a giver as well. I have two hands and legs, I can work."

By Annette Arotiba, BBC

NSCDC Uncovers Baby Factory in Lagos, Arrests Suspects

The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered a baby factory operation, leading to the arrest of suspects and the rescue of victims linked to the network. Authorities say the discovery forms part of ongoing efforts to combat human trafficking and other illegal activities in the state. News Central’s Israel Eferobor reports.

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Press groups condemn Nigeria police beating journalist covering Eid celebrations

Press rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Media Rights Organization (MRA), and International Press Centre, on Friday condemned the March 21 beating of Nigerian journalist Muhammad Sani Adamu in Bauchi state by local police.

The CPJ called for authorities to transparently conduct investigations and hold those responsible to account. The CJID described the incident as a gross violation of human rights and press freedom, emphasizing the importance of media protections and calling the press a “constitutionally recognized pillar of democracy” that requires a safe environment to function properly. The CJID also pressured Nigerian police to cover Adamu’s medical expenses.

The MRA told the Bauchi state police commissioner that he must act decisively to end attacks against journalists, including instituting appropriate training for police officers on the rights and constitutional duties of journalists, issuing operational directives on engagement with media, and enforcing disciplinary consequences for violations.

Organizations collectively called for greater accountability for police abuses and protection for journalists. The CPJ said that attacks against journalists in Nigeria occur “with general impunity.” WikkiTimes Media Foundation, a local media group, said the violence was “not an isolated incident” and worried that it reflected a “recurring pattern of police violence against journalists.” The CPJ has previously condemned other attacks against journalists in Bauchi state, including 14 attacks against journalists covering Nigerian presidential and federal elections in February 2023 and criminal charges levied against two journalists in July 2022 for political reporting.

Adamu had attempted to gain access to Eid Durbar festivities held in Tafawa Balewa Square in Bununu, in northeastern Nigeria. He told press groups that he tried to show his press badge to police and identify himself as a journalist. The situation quickly escalated as two officers began to physically assail him. A group of at least 10 policemen then reportedly joined to flog him with sticks, cutting his head open.

A police spokesperson said Bauchi police planned to conduct an investigation into the incident and publicly release findings.

The attack reflects a pattern of reported state abuse of Nigerian journalists, including arbitrary detention and criminalization of reporting. The MRA had filed a lawsuit that resulted in a February 2024 federal high court judgment ordering authorities to investigate and appropriately punish all attacks by journalists. The court held that the state had violated Principle 20 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, which protects the safety of journalists.

By Tony Xun, Jurist News

Nine women shot dead during protest in Nigeria

Nigerian Army soldiers opened fire and killed nine women protesting the army's handling of communal clashes in the northeastern Adamawa state, witnesses and Amnesty International told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The women were protesting on Monday along a major road in Adamawa's local government, Lamurde, when the soldiers shot at them after being blocked from passing, witnesses and victims' relatives told the AP in detail, first reported on Tuesday. Ten others were injured in the shooting, witnesses said.

The Nigerian Army, in a statement, denied killing anyone and blamed the deaths on a local militia it said opened fire in the area.


Amnesty International's Nigeria office said the agency confirmed soldiers killed the nine protesters, citing accounts from witnesses and families of victims.

“It shows that the Nigerian military has not changed much because of its past record of human rights violations and disregard for the rule of law,” according to Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International in Nigeria.

The Associated Press could not independently verify what happened.

Such killings are common across Nigeria, where soldiers often deployed in response to protests and clashes are usually accused of excessive use of force. Protests against police brutality in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos in 2020 ended up in what a government-commissioned inquiry described as a massacre after soldiers opened fire at the protest venue.

The latest incident happened amid a curfew that authorities imposed in Lamurde following frequent clashes between Adamawa's Bachama and Chobo ethnic groups over a prolonged land dispute.

The protesters were aggrieved that security forces, including the soldiers, were not enforcing the curfew in affected areas, thereby allowing the clashes to continue, according to Lawson Ignatius, the councillor representing Lamurde in the local government parliament.

Gyele Kennedy, who said his daughter was among the protesters shot dead, lamented in anguish that “we don’t know what came over them.”

“These soldiers were leaving where the conflict happened, and they came to pass through this place. They came and met the women protesting when one of the soldiers shot his gun in the air. After that, they opened fire on the women,” said Kennedy.

The Nigerian Army, however, denied the claims, saying its soldiers only engaged a local militia in a different part of the town.

“Without equivocation, the casualties were caused by the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the local militias who are not proficiently trained to handle such automatic weapons,” an army spokesman said.

The reported killings come as the Nigerian military is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has alleged that Christians are being targeted in Nigeria's security crises and that the security forces are not doing enough to prevent the killings. Residents have told the AP that both Christians and Muslims are affected in the widespread violence plaguing Nigerian villages.

Amnesty International's Nigeria office called for the reported killings to be investigated and the perpetrators held accountable.

AP

Nigerian women protest for reserved seats in parliament

Several African countries, from Senegal to Rwanda, have increased the number of women legislators by using quota systems.

Nigeria, which has no such system, only counts four women senators out of 109 and 16 women in the 360-member House of Representatives, according to the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), a local NGO.

Dubbed the "Special Seats Bill", the legislation would add one woman-only seat for both the House and the Senate in each of Nigeria's 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, though implementing the changes would require a constitutional amendment.

"We want the legislature to work for women," said Dorothy Njemanze, one of the organisers, who said she had counted more than 1,000 demonstrators in attendance.

Women's groups from across the country converged in Abuja, organising a caravan of buses, vans and a truck blasting up-tempo Afrobeats music that snaked through the wide boulevards of the planned city.

Advocates say that reserved seats would serve as a corrective to the financial barriers, entrenched gender roles and a domination of politics by male power brokers that keep women out of power in Africa's most populous nation.

The caravan ended with the delivery of signatures in support of the legislation to a House committee holding a hearing on constitutional reform.

President Bola Tinubu's minister for women's affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has signalled support for the legislation.

However, the PLAC, in its legislative analysis, warned that constitutional amendments are "no walk in the park", with two-thirds of the National Assembly and 24 state legislatures required to approve any changes.

Several similar attempts at creating reserved seats for women have failed in recent years.

"I want that seat, because tomorrow, I may be the one contesting" for it, Onu Ihunania, a 50-year-old civil servant and member of the caravan, told AFP.

A National Assembly with more women might better focus on women's health and economic inclusion, said Nyiyam Ikyereve, 40, who travelled several hours from Benue state to join the protest.

The lack of women's representation came to a head earlier this year when Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the chamber after she complained about sexual harassment.

The Senate president maintained that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for a separate incident related to an argument that erupted in the chamber over her seating arrangement.

AFP

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In Nigeria, a proposed bill to reserve more parliamentary seats for women is gaining momentum. Proponents say it could boost female representation in the country where women hold only 20 of 469 seats. The bill proposes one additional seat for women in each state in both houses of parliament, along with three special seats for women in every state assembly.

CGTN Africa

Nigeria ranked 3rd world country with highest detention of underage children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other participants at the Nigeria Bar Association Conference (AGC) in Enugu have urged NBA to institute a framework that will strengthen the law, improve the situation of children in detention and promote child justice in Nigeria.

This was after the moderator of “the end detention of child season”, Uchenna Emereonye and the lead discussant, Uju Agomoh Executive Director PRAWA, separately gave evidence and statistics of Nigeria children deprived of liberty and the role of NBA in ending arbitrary detention of children in Nigeria.

They said that Nigeria is ranked among top three countries in the world that has the highest number of children in detention and the worst is that those children are detained where they are not supposed to be; in the same cell with adults which is completely against the law.

She said that “the existing laws on the right of Nigeria child should be fully implemented for continued efforts to improve the situation of children in detention and promote child justice in Nigeria.”

“The number of children in detention, awaiting trial in Nigeria is unacceptable. And the question is how can the Bar help to stop this abuse of our children? How can the Bar stand tall in ending child detention in Nigeria?”

Agomoh, a renowned Health Practitioner and Human Right Advocate, presented statistics from a national survey supported by UNICEF, indicating the number of young persons in detention as alarming and unacceptable and that about 70% lacks access to legal representation.

She reminded the NBA of the Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019 that requires Custodial Centres to refuse admittance of offenders not meant for their facilities.

The session, she said, aims at exploring the best ways to ensure compliance with legal provisions and improve the situation of children in detention, hence the need for a better enforcement of provisions and enhance the role of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in advocating for child justice.

She announced that only three Borstal Institutions are functional in the whole country where every state supposed to have one, and asked where are those children that go against the law in the other 29 States are kept.

She emphasised on the role of the NBA in raising awareness and advocating for child justice and also calling for specialised training for lawyers handling child justice cases.

By Regis Anukwuoji, Business Day

Mob burns Nigerian woman to death for alleged blasphemy

A woman has been burnt to death by a mob in northern Nigeria's Niger state after she was accused of blaspheming against Prophet Muhammad, police have said.

Police condemned the killing of the woman - identified in local media as a food vendor named Amaye - as "jungle justice", saying that an investigation was under way to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

Local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying a man jokingly proposed marriage to the vendor, and her response was considered blasphemous by some people in the area.

"Unfortunately, it led to a mob attack, and [she] was set ablaze before a reinforcement of security teams could arrive at the scene," state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said.

He appealed to members of the public to remain calm and not to take the law into their own hands following the killing on Saturday in Kasuwan-Garba town.

Such killings are not uncommon in northern Nigeria, where blasphemy is regarded as a criminal offence under Islamic (Sharia) law, which operates alongside secular law in 12 mainly Muslim states.

At least two other people have been lynched over such accusations in the last three years, with critics pointing out that not enough is being done to prevent the killings that have targeted both Muslims and Christians.

In 2022, student Deborah Samuel was beaten and burned alive in Sokoto state after being accused of making blasphemous comments.

Last year, a butcher, Usman Buda, was stoned to death in the same state under similar circumstances.

Though Nigeria's constitution upholds freedom of speech, the country remains deeply divided on matters of faith and justice.

Nigeria's Supreme Court has in the past ruled that blasphemy allegations must be proven in a court of law.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC

Related story: Nigeria’s blasphemy laws must be repealed, orders court

Nigerian university sparks outrage as staff check whether female students are wearing bras before exams

A Nigerian university is facing backlash after a viral video appeared to show young women who were queuing for exams being checked for whether they were wearing bras before being allowed in.

In a short clip that spread quickly on social media, two women seem to be touching the breasts of the women in the queue as they walk past. Students at Olabisi Onabanjo University confirmed to CNN that the video was shot at their school, in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state.

In the video, one female student appeared to be removed from the queue after one of the women touched her.

CNN has not been able to confirm when the video was taken but a student representative at OOU, who defended the school over what he dubbed the, “no bra, no entry policy,” said exams began this week.

The university has not responded to CNN’s request for comment and has not commented publicly on the alleged policy amid widespread outrage on Nigerian social media.

Student union leader Muizz Olanrewaju Olatunji said in a post on X Tuesday that the check for bras “is not a new policy” in the school, which he stated, “promotes a dress code policy aimed at maintaining a respectful and distraction-free environment, encouraging students to dress modestly and in line with the institution’s values.”

Olatunji shared parts of what he said were the school’s policies, which described indecent dressing as that which shows sensitive body parts “such as breasts, buttocks, nipples and belly-buttons,” including “any dressing that is capable of making the same or opposite sex to lust after the student in an indecent manner.”

A ‘draconian’ policy

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong described the OOU’s bra policy as “draconian” and “arbitrary,” and one that “might amount to some form of sexual harassment.”

He told CNN that “physically examining the bodies of students to determine whether they are wearing a bra or not is not only degrading but also undignifying.”

“There could be medical explanations for why certain students may not feel comfortable wearing a bra at a particular time,” he said, adding that enforcing the policy “without exceptions, or without taking peculiarities into consideration is arbitrary,” and could lead to legal actions.

Student leader Olatunji said in another post on X Tuesday that talks were ongoing with OOU’s administration “to explore alternative approaches to addressing indecent dressing, focusing on respectful and dignified interactions between students and staff.”

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

Ogoni Nine Pardon ‘Falls Far Short’ of Real Justice

Responding to the announcement on Wednesday that the Nigerian government has pardoned the Ogoni Nine, Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director, said:

“This is welcome news but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve – the Nigerian government must recognize formally that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them.

“The Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, were brutally executed by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies that were destroying – and continue to destroy – the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta as a result of their devastating oil spills and leaks.

“The execution of these activists nearly 30 years ago has given the Nigerian government and oil companies, including Shell, license to crackdown on protests and intimidate people in the Niger Delta who have been demanding justice and an end to their toxic pollution.

“Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step – much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do. They must pay the Niger Delta’s communities full compensation for the devastation their oil spills and leaks have caused and clean up their toxic mess before they leave the region.”

The Ogoni Nine

Ken Saro-Wiwa, environmental activist and writer, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo and Daniel Gbokoo, were executed after a blatantly unfair trial on 10 November 1995. Officially accused of involvement in murder, the men had in fact been put on trial because they had challenged the devastating impact of oil production by Shell, in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta.

Shell have been accused of complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men.

Niger Delta devastation

For 60 years Shell and other oil companies have been responsible for oil spills and leaks due to poorly maintained pipelines, wells and inadequate clean-up attempts that have ravaged the health and livelihoods of many of the 30 million people living in the Niger Delta – most of whom live in poverty. People can’t fish anymore because their water sources, including their wells for drinking water, are poisoned and the land is contaminated which has killed plant life, meaning communities can no longer farm. 

The Ogale and Bille communities as well as the Bodo community are taking Shell to the UK’s Royal Courts of Justice demanding the oil giant cleans up the oil spills that have wrecked their livelihoods, health and caused widespread devastation to the local environment.

Amnesty International

Nigeria pardons activist Ken Saro-Wiwa 30 years after execution

 

Nigeria's president has pardoned the late activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, 30 years after his execution sparked global outrage.

Along with eight other campaigners, Mr Saro-Wiwa was convicted of murder, then hanged in 1995 by the then-military regime.

Many believed the activists were being punished for leading protests against the operations of oil multinationals, particularly Shell, in Nigeria's Ogoniland. Shell has long denied any involvement in the executions.

Though the pardons have been welcomed, some activists and relatives say they do not go far enough.

As well as issuing the pardons on Thursday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu bestowed national honours on Mr Saro-Wiwa and his fellow campaigners, who were known as the Ogoni Nine.

The nine men - Mr Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo and Daniel Gbokoo - were among dozens who received the honours as part of Nigeria's annual Democracy Day.

Tinubu said the accolades recognised "heroes" who had made "outstanding contributions " to the nation's democracy.

Responding to the pardons for the Ogoni Nine, campaign groups said they would like the government to take further steps.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), which was formerly led by Mr Saro-Wiwa, called the pardon a "courageous act".

However, Mosop also said that the pardon implies wrongdoing, while in reality "no crime ever took place".

Barinem Kiobel's widow expressed her gratitude to Tinubu for the national honour, but called on the president to "properly declare [her] husband and his compatriots innocent" because a "pardon is not granted to the innocent".

Likewise, Amnesty International said clemency falls "far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need".

More must be done to hold oil companies to account for environmental damage currently occurring in Nigeria, the organisation added.

Mr Saro-Wiwa, who was one of Nigeria's leading authors, led the Ogoni people in peaceful demonstrations against Shell and other oil companies.

Mosop accused the multinational company of polluting the land that locals relied on for their livelihoods.

The Nigerian government responded by brutally cracking down on the protesters. The Ogoni Nine were subsequently found guilty by a secret military tribunal of the murder of four Ogoni chiefs.

Their execution sparked outrage within the international community. It was widely condemned as extrajudicial murder and became a global symbol of the struggle against environmental injustice and repression.

Nigeria was consequently suspended from the Commonwealth group of nations.

Since then, Shell has faced various lawsuits over oil spills and environmental damage in the Niger Delta, the southern region that Ogoniland is a part of.

In 2021 a Dutch court ordered Shell to compensate farmers for spills that contaminated swathes of farmland and fishing waters in the Niger Delta. The company agreed to pay more than a hundred million dollars.

Earlier this year, lawyers representing two Ogoniland communities argued in London's High Court that Shell must take responsibility for oil pollution that occurred between 1989 and 2020.

Shell denies wrongdoing and says spills in the region have been caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining for which the company says it is not liable.

The case's full trial is set for 2026.

By Wedaeli Chibelushi, BBC

Nigeria’s blasphemy laws must be repealed, orders court

In Kano State, a Muslim-majority state in northern Nigeria, strict blasphemy laws carry punishments as severe as the death penalty for insulting Prophet Muhammad. The ECOWAS court has now called for the laws to be repealed, and declared them to be in violation of international human rights obligations.

ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has 12 member nations, including Nigeria, and the justices unanimously ordered Nigeria to repeal, or amend, blasphemy laws across the nation. Blasphemy laws in the state ‘had led to serious violations including arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, and in some cases, death sentences’, said Expression Now Human Rights Initiative, as reported by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper.

As well as infringing on freedom of expression, these laws often lead to extrajudicial mob violence. Even when someone is never officially found guilty of blasphemy, an accusation can make them very vulnerable to vigilante attacks, and even murder.

Kano State is ruled by sharia (Islamic law), and Section 210 of the Kano State Penal Code was singled out. The court said: “It fails to clearly define what constitutes an insult to religion’, falling short of the legal clarity required under human rights law.” The judges also focused on Section 382(b), which imposes the death penalty for insulting Prophet Muhammad. The Justice said it was ‘excessive and disproportionate in a democratic society’.

Kano State officials have signalled unhappiness at the ruling. “We will not be deterred by external pressures,” Kano State Commissioner Ibrahim Waiya said. “Our responsibility is to uphold the values of our society, which are grounded in religious and moral beliefs… While we respect international opinions, our laws are a reflection of our people’s will.”

Meanwhile, campaigners for religious freedom are celebrating the result. “Religious laws must not become instruments for fear and mob justice,” said rights group, Rivers in the Desert Nigeria, describing it as ‘a matter of life, dignity and Nigeria’s soul’. The Christian Association of Nigeria warmly supported the court and urged Kano State to adhere to the ruling of ECOWAS.

A good result for every Nigerian citizen

John Samuel*, Open Doors’ legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, noted that every single Nigerian citizen – regardless of background or religion – would enjoy protection as a result of the ruling.

“People of all faiths and none have had their right to religious freedom and free expression upheld,” he said. “The decision is highly welcomed. The Nigerian government should take the necessary steps to repeal or amend the blasphemy laws, in accordance with this ruling.”


Arise Africa

While southern Nigeria has a majority-Christian population, most of the northern states are mostly Muslim. States have individual federal laws, alongside nationwide laws, which is why Kano has been singled out in this case.

In the north of the country, Christians are also particularly vulnerable to jihadist attacks – though this Islamist militant violence is also spreading further south in the country. According to Open Doors research, more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined – and millions of believers in sub-Saharan Africa are being displaced by violence and conflict, including persecution.

In response, the African church is asking people to stand with them – through prayer, through support, and through signing the Arise Africa petition. This ruling by ECOWAS shows that amplifying the voices of the persecuted can lead to change – and that is the hope for the Arise Africa petition, which calls for protection, justice and restoration for religious minorities in sub-Saharan Africa. It is intended to be presented to the Africa Union, UN, EU, and local governments including the UK government in 2026. If you haven’t done so yet, do add your voice to the petition – and encourage others to sign too. Stories like this one show why calling for justice is crucial – and can lead to big results.

*Names changed for security reasons

By Simon, Open Doors

Related stories: Singer on death row denied medical care

Nigerian humanist freed after imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’

China seeks rights protection for its arrested citizens in Nigeria

Troubled by the incessant arrest of its citizens for fraud and other criminal activities in Nigeria, the Chinese government is stepping in.

Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai has asked Nigerian authorities to respect the rights of Chinese citizens arrested in the country. Yu, who led a delegation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), also suggested the idea of a Chinese team working with the agency to tackle cybercrime.

He expressed regret over the alleged involvement of Chinese citizens in crime in Nigeria.

The Africa Report revealed the mass arrest of Chinese nationals, especially in Lagos and Abuja, for cybercrime and illegal mining activities in January, with sources stating that the Nigerian government’s push for Chinese investments had opened the door to illegal activities.

“As the Chinese ambassador, I would also request that the legitimate right of the Chinese citizens, even if they committed a crime, should be well protected,” he was quoted in a statement issued by Nigeria’s anti-corruption watchdog.

“We understand that over the past couple of months, the EFCC uncovered some cybercrime and telecom frauds which involved some Chinese. As a Chinese ambassador, I feel much regret for that, but as a country that has a big population, there are always some bad apples,” Yu said.

Bola Akinterinwa, the Vice Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, tells our correspondent that China’s demand for the protection of the rights of the citizens is not out of order but anything more that that would be strange especially because acts of corruption in China carry the death penalty.

Akinterinwa, who is a former head of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, adds that even though Nigeria is bound to enforce its own local laws, it could make exceptions for China in pursuit of its own goals which could have larger benefits for millions of its citizens.

“Nigeria could close its eyes (to infractions) if it wants to get certain deals from China like loans, technology transfer for the sake of its larger interest and then give them soft landing to the Chinese citizens. It is solely within the right of the Nigerian government on what steps to take,” he adds.

Fundamental human rights

He also expressed China’s zero tolerance for corruption, adding that available intelligence suggested that those involved in crime came to Nigeria from other countries.

Responding, EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said the anti-corruption agency will continue to respect the rights of all suspects, including Chinese citizens.

“While we’re preparing for prosecution, they were giving your people Chinese food. That is to show you how we respect fundamental human rights and due process,” said the anti-corruption czar.

Olukoyede said mutual respect and benefit have been the bedrock of the Nigeria-China relationship and this will remain so. He stressed that not all Asians arrested by the EFCC and prosecuted are from China.

Working relationship

China is the largest investor in Nigeria’s solid minerals, especially lithium. However, there have been accusations that a handful of Chinese nationals coming under the guise of investing had been engaged in illegal mining.

Some Nigerian senators had a few weeks ago called for a full investigation and invited immigration officials to explain the influx of such visitors.

However, Nigeria’s foreign ministry downplayed the issue when China’s foreign minister Wang Xi visited in January.

“We shouldn’t single out China and say everything they’re doing is bad. Suffice it to say, Chinese citizens are doing more good than harm in Nigeria,” said Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s foreign minister.

Nigeria’s debt to China exceeds $5bn. The sum is more than the bilateral loans owed to all other countries combined, according to the debt management office. Abuja has also been seeking favours from Beijing especially regarding full membership of BRICS, joining the G20 and getting a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

However, some illegal activities had become too big to ignore, officials said.

Speaking to The Africa Report, David Aworawo, a professor of international relations at the University of Lagos, says the relationship between Nigeria and China will remain cordial as long as citizens’ rights are respected.

“I don’t see a division in the Nigeria/China relations over the arrests. What needs to be done is what China has said. Let there be respect for human rights and fairness. Once this happens, there shouldn’t be any friction,” Aworawo says.

By Eniola Akinkuotu, The Africa Report

Singer on death row denied medical care

Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu, a 25-year-old singer, was sentenced to death by hanging in August 2020 for “blasphemy” after sharing a song on WhatsApp. His case remains stalled, with an appeal filed before Nigeria’s Supreme Court in November 2022 still awaiting a hearing date.

Meanwhile, Yahaya, who has asthma, remains in a correctional facility without proper access to his medication. Denying him medical care endangers his life. Nigerian authorities must overturn his conviction and grant his immediate, unconditional release. Until then, he must receive the treatment he urgently needs.

Here’s what you can do:

Write to the Kano State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice urging him to:Drop all charges against Yahaya Aminu Sheriff and ensure his immediate and unconditional release.
Set a timely date for his appeal hearing to prevent further delays in justice.
Ensure his detention conditions meet international standards, in line with the Mandela Rules.
Grant him immediate access to adequate health care, including necessary medication for his asthma.
Provide him with sufficient food and clothing to maintain his well-being while in detention.


Write to:

Governor Salomón Jara Cruz

Kano State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice

Haruna Isa Dederi

Kano State Ministry of Justice

Audu Baka Secretariat Kano

15, Club Road, P.M.B. 3352, Kano, Nigeria

Emails: https://justice.kn.gov.ng / info@justice.kn.gov.ng

Salutation: Dear Attorney General,

And copy:

Mr. Abba Kawu Zanna

Minister & Acting High Commissioner

High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria

295 Metcalfe Street

Ottawa, ON K2P 1R9

Tel: (613) 236-0521,2,3/236-0521 Ext 240 (24h)

Email: chancery@nigeriahcottawa.ca

Conviction and ongoing legal battle

On August 10, 2020, an Upper Sharia Court in Kano State sentenced Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu, then 21, to death for “blasphemy” after he shared a song on WhatsApp. In January 2021, a High Court overturned his conviction due to trial irregularities and ordered a retrial.

His lawyers opposed the retrial, arguing he would still face the same blasphemy law. They appealed to the Kano Division Appeal Court, seeking to dismiss the case and declare the law unconstitutional. However, in August 2022, the court upheld both the retrial and the blasphemy law.

In November 2022, his lawyers escalated the appeal to Nigeria’s Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Kano’s blasphemy laws. Two years later, the case remains stalled, with no hearing date set. Meanwhile, Yahaya remains in detention.

Health concerns and harsh detention conditions

In March 2024, Amnesty International visited Yahaya in prison and found his health in decline. He suffers from severe asthma but lacks regular access to necessary medication. He was also denied proper food and clothing. During a follow-up visit in November 2024, Amnesty International reported some improvement due to medication provided by his family. However, he still lacks consistent medical care.

Nigeria’s detention conditions remain dire, failing to meet the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules). Prisoners frequently lack basic necessities, including adequate food and healthcare.

Blasphemy laws, the death penalty, and human rights violations

Blasphemy laws violate the right to freedom of expression. Under international human rights law, the death penalty should only apply to the “most serious crimes,” defined as intentional killing. Yahaya’s case has drawn widespread criticism. In April 2023, the European Parliament called for his release. In May 2024, UN experts also demanded his freedom.

Concerns over trial fairness persist. Yahaya was denied legal representation before and during his trial. Only after pressure from human rights activists was he allowed legal counsel for his appeal.

Nigeria continues to impose the death penalty despite calls for abolition. In 2023, courts handed down over 246 new death sentences, bringing the total number of people on death row to more than 3,413. Both the 2004 National Study Group on the Death Penalty and the 2007 Presidential Commission on the Administration of Justice warned that Nigeria’s legal system cannot ensure fair trials. They called for a moratorium on executions, a position echoed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

International law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), affirms that restrictions on freedom of expression must meet strict legal tests. The UN Human Rights Committee has explicitly stated that blasphemy laws are incompatible with these protections.

Urgent action needed

Yahaya Sheriff-Aminu’s conviction, death sentence, and prolonged detention violate Nigeria’s human rights obligations. Authorities must ensure his immediate release, uphold fair trial rights, and abolish the use of the death penalty for blasphemy.

Please take action as soon as possible until August 17, 2025. The UA will be duly updated should there be the need for further action.

Amnesty International

Related story: Nigerian humanist freed after imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’

Nigerian residents take Shell to UK High court following 10-year fight for justice

After a decade-long fight for justice, the Preliminary Issues Trial of Nigerian Law for Shell vs Ogale and Bille communities is set to take place at the UK High Court from 13 February to 10 March 2025.

Ten years ago, residents from the Bille and Ogale communities in Nigeria claimed their livelihoods had been destroyed and homes damaged by hundreds of oil spills caused by Shell. The pollution caused widespread devastation to the local environment, killing fish and plant life, leaving thousands of people without access to clean drinking water.

The communities brought their claims in the UK courts however Shell repeatedly delayed the case arguing it had no legal responsibility for any of the pollution. The delay has had a devastating effect on people’s lives.

On 6 December 2024, the UK Court of Appeal gave the green light for the case finally to go ahead. Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Country Director for Nigeria, said:

“The Bille and Ogale communities of Nigeria’s Niger Delta oil-producing region have been living with the devastating impact of oil pollution for so long. Oil companies, particularly Shell, exposed them to multiple oil spills that have done permanent damage to farmlands, waterways, and drinking water – leaving them unable to farm or fish.

“Water contamination and other impacts affect even babies that are in some cases born with deformities. These communities have been deprived of a good standard of living. They deserve justice and effective remediation, and I hope this long-overdue trial goes someway to providing it.”

Amnesty International has published numerous reports, documenting the detrimental impact Shell’s operations are having on Nigerian communities. Going forward, Amnesty International is calling for Shell to conduct meaningful consultation with affected communities about its plans for disengagement. Shell must also provide a full remediation plan including details of all completed and ongoing clean-ups across its areas of operation, as well as adequate compensation for the severe and sustained harm affected communities have faced as a result of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta.

Background

The two communities from Nigeria will be represented by Leigh Day. The Shell Preliminary Issues Trial of Nigerian Law will aim to resolve a number of Nigerian private and constitutional law questions, with a view to confirming the legal framework to be applied to the subsequent trial between Shell and the Ogale and Bille communities.

The Court of Appeal heard the Shell Nigeria oil spill appeal on 8 October 2024. On 11 October 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Nigerian communities over alleged pollution by oil giant Shell. On 6 December 2024, a full trial of Nigerian communities’ claims against Shell was given the go ahead.

Over the past 20 years, Amnesty International has conducted extensive research and documented the human rights and environmental impact of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta. In Amnesty’s 2023 report, Nigeria: Tainted Sale?, the organization recommended a series of safeguards to protect the rights of people potentially affected by Shell’s planned disposal of its oil interests in Nigeria.

Amnesty International

Hunger Ravages Inmates in Overcrowded Prisons in Nigeria

Ibrahim* went from earning an honest living as a factory worker, supporting his family, to clawing for scraps of garri in a sweltering, overcrowded prison cell.

Within a week of entering the Goron Dutse Correctional Facility in Kano State, northwestern Nigeria, he developed a severe skin infection. Two months later, he was almost unrecognisable. Once fair and plump, as shown in the photo on his old identity card, he now appeared skinny, his skin marred by rashes that covered half his body.

But how did Ibrahim end up there?

Months earlier, a substantial credit alert unexpectedly appeared in his bank account. He claimed to have no idea where it had come from at the time. He waited anxiously for any inquiries. When none came, he convinced himself it was an unforeseen stroke of luck. Yielding to temptation, he used the money to clear his debts and support his ageing parents, reassuring himself that no harm would come of it.

However, the factory where Ibrahim has been employed discovered some missing funds, which were traced back to his account. Summoned to the manager’s office, Ibrahim told HumAngle that he had admitted to the transaction and promised to repay the money. He was immediately dismissed and given a brief window to settle the debt. When he failed to repay by the deadline, he was arrested one day, in front of his family.

At the police station, Ibrahim spent hours under questioning. He admitted to spending part of the money but pleaded for leniency, explaining he had mistaken it for a “federal government loan” he had previously applied for. His pleas fell on deaf ears.

In court, Ibrahim was charged with theft and given two options: pay a fine of thirty thousand naira or face three months in prison. With no way to pay, he was sentenced to Goron Dutse.

Justice delayed, lives endangered

Critics argue that Nigerian judges contribute to the overcrowding of prisons by sending people to jail for minor offences or holding them in custody pending trial. In Kano State, over 70 per cent of the inmates are awaiting trials and, recently, the Police said some inmates’ files are missing, preventing cases from progressing.

“Most of the inmates awaiting trial have stayed in custody with their cases yet to be determined by the courts,” said Musbahu Lawan, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Kano Command spokesperson.

He explained that this backlog is the primary cause of congestion. “Our laws give us the power to transfer convicted inmates to any facility in the country, so if the inmates awaiting trial are eventually convicted, there won’t be congestion,” Lawan noted.

Hell behind bars

Goron Dutse was worse than Ibrahim had imagined. His cell, not larger than the size of a small bedroom, held several of them. “I can’t say exactly how many we were in the cell, but I know we were more than twenty,” he recalled after a benefactor paid his fine and secured his release.

Other inmates who have been released from Goron Dutse described the living conditions as inhumane. Even lying down is a luxury. Usman Auwalu, who spent six months behind bars, was left with a frail body, hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. “We are packed in a room like a box of sardines,” he told HumAngle.

Another released inmate, Mallam Habu, a man in his sixties, could barely walk or speak after his ordeal. Habu couldn’t walk properly. As he dragged his body, he whispered, “Inmates need help inside.”

For decades, Nigerian prisons have struggled with severe overcrowding. Kano State, home to nearly 15 million, has only ten correctional centres, with just two in the metropolis. The Goron Dutse Correctional Facility, originally designed to house 639 inmates, now holds over 2,000, an official source at the facility told HumAngle. “There are new blocks in the prison, but overcrowding remains an issue. More people are brought in every day,” the source explained.

Inside the cells, prisoners are crammed together—some sitting, others lying on the ground, while a few cling to the bars for air. The stench of sweat, urine, and the humid heat, Auwalu said, makes breathing almost impossible.

For many inmates at Goron Dutse, enduring these conditions is a daily struggle. For many others, entering the prison feels like a death sentence.

Starvation into submission

Perhaps the most harrowing aspect of Ibrahim’s experience was the hunger. “We ate once a day, and it was just a handful of garri or three small morsels of tuwo,” he said.

When HumAngle interviewed Usman, he couldn’t stand upright; he attributed the condition to chronic starvation. “It’s just hunger,” he said, his skeletal frame telling a far more harrowing tale. “The food wouldn’t satisfy a toddler. You eat to survive, not to live. You’re never full. Never.”

Others tell similar stories. For Yahaya Abba, a middle-aged man who spent nine months in prison, hunger was a silent killer. “We are the lucky ones. We made it out alive. But inside, people are dying slowly and silently because there is no food,” he said.

Despite an increase in the daily feeding allowance from ₦700 to ₦1,050 per inmate, the funds are insufficient to provide balanced meals. Ibrahim described the food as unbalanced, lacking essential nutrients, and often served in unsanitary conditions.

A source within the NCoS confirmed the dire situation. “Every day, one or two dead bodies are being taken out,” he said anonymously. “They die because of hunger.” Authorities, however, appear reluctant to acknowledge the scale of the problem. “I don’t know what benefit they are driving by denying these deaths or attributing it to other causes, but the reality is inmates are dying because of hunger,” another insider revealed.

Lawan, the NCoS spokesperson, dismissed the criticism. “People expect to eat or sleep in prison as they do in their homes, but that’s impossible. The food is meant to keep inmates alive, not provide luxury,” he stated. He further explained that prison meals are termed “ration” because they are portioned, not because everyone gets what they desire.

The spokesperson’s response highlights the systemic neglect that turns prisons into places of suffering rather than rehabilitation. Ibrahim’s ordeal raises pressing questions: Are Nigeria’s correctional facilities rehabilitating offenders, or are they perpetuating cycles of poverty and crime?

For the men freed, freedom felt hollow. It was survival—escaping one nightmare only to bear its scars indefinitely. For those still inside, their suffering continues: unheard, unseen, and unending.

*All names in this story have been changed.

By Aliyu Dahiru, HumAngle

Related story: Set them free! The judge who liberates Nigerians forgotten in jail

Nigerian humanist freed after imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’

The National Secular Society has welcomed news that Nigerian atheist Mubarak Bala has been freed from prison, after spending four years behind bars for 'blasphemy'.

In 2022, Bala was sentenced to 24 years in prison, after Kano State High Court convicted him of 18 counts of causing a public disturbance.

He was arrested in 2020 after a petition from a group of lawyers alleging he had called the Islamic prophet Muhammad "all sorts of denigrating names" was sent to police.

Bala's legal team said they believe Bala is still in danger. Bala told the BBC that that whilst he is now free, there remains "an underlying threat", and "the concern about my safety is always there".

When asked why he pled guilty to the charges in court, which was not part of the agreed legal strategy, Bala said he believed this would save "not only my life, but people in the state, and especially those that were attached to my case".

Humanists International said it is likely he was subjected to intimidation, and there have been unconfirmed reports of threats against his family members.

During his ordeal, Bala was held without charge for 462 days and was denied access to a legal team for over five months. Bala was also denied access to medical care. In December 2020, a judge at the High Court in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, ruled that Bala should be immediately released, but Kano State authorities failed to comply.

Bala said that: "In Kano [prison], I never thought I would get out alive."

The NSS contributed to Humanists International's campaign to release Bala, and in 202 urged authorities in Nigeria to release him after he had spent a year in detention.

Blasphemy laws exist in at least 95 countries, including Northern Ireland. In 12 countries, including Nigeria, blasphemy or apostasy are punishable by death.

NSS: Abolition of blasphemy should follow Bala's freedom

NSS spokesperson Jack Rivington said: "We are delighted that Mubarak Bala has been freed, but he should never have faced imprisonment in the first place.

"Criticising religion should never be a crime. Blasphemy laws of any kind have no place anywhere. They are an affront to the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief.

"We call again for the abolition of all blasphemy laws, everywhere."

National Secular Society

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