A Christian mom of 5 in Nigeria who spent 19 months in jail on unfounded blasphemy fees was acquitted final week, based on authorized group ADF Worldwide.
Rhoda Jatau was jailed in Bauchi State in Could 2022 for allegedly sharing a WhatsApp video condemning the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a college scholar in Nigeria who was killed by a mob of Muslim classmates that very same month for sharing her Christian religion.
Jatau was launched on bail in December 2023 and sought security in an undisclosed location through the trial. A decide in Bauchi state introduced her full acquittal final week, based on ADF Worldwide, which supported her authorized defence.
A Nigerian lawyer related to ADF Worldwide who served as its lead counsel, talking on situation of anonymity for safety causes, expressed gratitude for the end result.
“After two and a half years of trials, together with 19 lengthy months in jail, we’re glad that Rhoda has lastly been acquitted,” the lawyer mentioned. “We thank all those that have prayed for Rhoda and ask in your continued prayers as Nigerians proceed to quell the persecution.
Jatau was charged with disturbing public order (Article 114 of the Bauch State Penal Code) and spiritual insult (Article 210), and a conviction would imply as much as 5 years in jail. Judges repeatedly denied her bail and held her in solitary confinement with solely occasional entry to a lawyer and members of the family throughout court docket hearings earlier than she was lastly granted bail, based on ADF Worldwide.
A decide in Bauchi State refused to dismiss the case regardless of Jatau's legal professionals making “no submissions of case” because the prosecutors rested as a result of critical evidentiary points, the group mentioned.
“Jatau's legal professionals have highlighted important authorized failings within the prosecution's case, arguing that they’ve did not show important parts of their case in opposition to Jatau,” ADF Worldwide mentioned in a press assertion. “The granting of bail and eventual acquittal adopted a world outcry over Jatau's imprisonment.”
Blasphemy legal guidelines are a significant driver of social rigidity within the nation of greater than 200 million individuals, which is break up virtually evenly between Christians and Muslims, ADF Worldwide mentioned.
“These legal guidelines punish the harmless for expressing their beliefs, silence individuals from sharing their religion, and perpetuate societal violence,” the assertion mentioned. “Blasphemy legal guidelines throughout Nigeria encourage brutal mob violence and trigger critical hurt to minority Muslims, Christian converts and others.”
Sean Nelson, authorized counsel for ADF Worldwide, expressed his gratitude for ending Jatau's struggling.
“We’re grateful to God for Rhoda's full acquittal and an finish to the struggling she has endured for a lot too lengthy,” Nelson mentioned. “No individual must be punished for peaceable expression and we’re grateful that Rhoda Jatau has been totally exonerated. Nevertheless, Rhoda ought to by no means have been arrested within the first place. We are going to proceed to hunt justice for Christians and different spiritual minorities in Nigeria who’re unfairly imprisoned and tormented by draconian blasphemy legal guidelines.”
Jatau was working as the top of the Warja Major Well being Care Heart when a Christian college scholar was killed in Sokoto on Could 12, 2022. A video clip condemning the mob's killing and burning of Yakubu's physique surfaced on social media and outraged Muslims in Warja accused Jatau of sharing the video and attacked the ECWA (Evangelical Church Successful All) the place she was worshipping.
The ECWA church constructing was destroyed together with the homes of different Christians within the city of Warji, some Christians have been injured and Jatau was arrested by operatives of the Ministry of Civil Service, the federal government's secret service.
In response to the Open Doorways 2024 World Watch Listing (WWL) report, Nigeria remained the deadliest place on the earth to observe Christ with 4,118 individuals killed for his or her religion from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. Nigeria has additionally seen extra kidnappings of Christians than every other one other nation, particularly 3300.
Nigeria was additionally the third highest nation in assaults on church buildings and different Christian buildings reminiscent of hospitals, colleges and cemeteries, with 750, based on the report.
Within the 2024 WWL of nations the place it’s most troublesome to be a Christian, Nigeria was the identical as within the earlier 12 months in sixth place.
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