their criminal code. But Nigerian Sharia courts do, even if se- rious punishments such as amputations and stoning to dea- th are rarely imposed — and where they were imposed, have not being executed. Until January 2022, only one person, Sani Yakubu Rodi (Katsina State), has been executed since 12 Mus- lim-majority states embraced Sharia law. In 2020 an Islamic court in Nigeria’s Kano State sentenced Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician, to death for making a blasphemous statement against Muhammad, but in 2021 a retrial was ordered 4 . Last year the horrific murder of Deborah Yakubo, a Christian student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, northern Nigeria, accused of blasphemy by fellow students, brought the discussion back to the fore. This act of violence did not even respect the norms for Islamic law and was simply a case of lynching and summary execution, but it reaffirms the fear of Christians in the north of radicalization of some Muslims. According to ACN’s most recent Religious Freedom Report, Sharia law has deepened divisions in the country. When 12 states introduced Islamic law years ago, many Muslims reac- ted with enthusiasm, while Christians protested the decision. Ensuing riots claimed several thousand lives – of Christians as well as Muslims. Fr Atta Barkindo, director of the renowned Catholic Kukah Centre promoting interfaith dialogue, states: “What Sharia law has done is to divide us more in this country.
You go to communities; people have withdrawn into the womb of their religions”. According to Fr Barkindo it is urgent for Nige- rians to discuss what their country should actually look like as a secular state, how it can define itself as a nation, and how Christians and Muslims can live together 5 .
12 states officially introduced Islamic law between 1999 and 2001:
NIGER
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CHAD
SOKOTO
CHAD
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KATSINA
KOMADUGU
ZAMFARA KATSINA
JIGAWA
BIRNIN KEBBI
BORNO
YOBE
GUSAU
KANO
MAIDUGURI
DUTSE
DAMATURU
KANO
KEBBI
TIGO DAM
KADUNA
BAUCHI
KADUNA
GOMBE
BAUCHI
KAINJ RESERVOIR
BENIN
GOMBE
NIGER
JOS
ADAMAWA
MINNA
NIGERIA
YOLA
ABUJA
KWARA
PLATEAU
JALINGO
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY
LAFIA
ILORIN
NASSARAWA
OYO
TARABA
EKITI
LOKOJA
OSHOGBO
KOGI
IBADAN
MAKURDI
ADO-EKITI
OSUN
BENUE
AKURE
ABEOKUTA
OGUN
ONDO
EDO
ENUGU
IKEJA
CAMEROUN
LAGOS
ABAKALIKI
AWKA
BENIN CITY
ENUGU
ASABA
EBONYI
ANAMBRA
BIGHT OF BENIN
CROSS RIVER
ABIA
DELTA
UMUAHIA
OWERRI
AKWA IBOM
CALABAR
GULF OF GUINEA
RIVERS
YENAGOA
UYO
BEYELSA
PORT HARCOURT
© Aid to the Church in Need, 2023 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is visible acknowledged.
BIGHT OF BIAFRA
Zamfara | Kano | Sokoto | Katsina | Bauchi | Borno | Jigawa | Kebbi | Yobe | Kaduna | Niger | Gombe
STORY
Deborah Samuel murdered for a text message
Deborah Samuel Yakubu was a student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, northern Nigeria. In May she was accused of having sent a blasphemous WhatsApp message about Mohammed during Ramadan, while the college was closed for holidays. When she returned to class, a group of students was waiting and attacked her, stoning her and then setting fire to her body. After two people were arrested for her murder, groups of rioters attacked Christian sites in different places in the state capital.
The Catholic bishop of Sokoto, Mgr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, a promotor of inter-religious dialogue in his diocese, spared no words in condemning the criminal act against Deborah. Bishop Kukah recalled that Christians have lived in peace with their Muslim neighbors in Sokoto for years, and asked those who were directly affected, and the Christian community of Sokoto, to keep calm and wait for justice to follow its course.
Original articles: https://acninternational.org/nige- ria-christian-student-stoned-and-bur- ned-to-death/ https://acninternational.org/anti-chris- tian-violence-in-nigeria/
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