The north of Nigeria is dominated by Muslims, whereas the south is primarily Christian. An important issue in Nigeria, where there is a delicate balance between Muslim and Christian populations, is the issue of blasphemy
The term “blasphemy” in Islam encompasses a far larger range of offenses than it does in the latter, including not only the insulting or condemnation of Islamic characteristics but also the denial of any of Islam’s core doctrines.
Denying the divine revelation of the Quran, the prophethood of one of Islam’s prophets, insulting an angel, or claiming that God had a son are all examples of blasphemy.
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Blasphemy laws differ from country to country in the contemporary Muslim world, with some governments imposing fines, imprisonment, flogging, hanging, or beheading as penalties.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria has two judicial systems in operation.
Blasphemy is a crime that can be punished under any system. Both a customary (secular) and a Sharia-compliant system as outlined in the Constitution.
Twelve of Nigeria’s thirty-six states are Sunni Muslim and run Sharia courts, as well as secular customary courts, as the majority religion.
Blasphemy may be punished by Sharia courts with a variety of penalties, including death.
Section 204 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code bans blasphemy under the customary system, which is enacted by the courts.
When someone is accused of blasphemy, vigilantism and unjustified executions might occur as a result.
Lack of resources, sectarian allegiances, and corruption plague Nigeria’s law enforcement system. Violent crimes go unpunished as a result.
As a result, we’ll go through six instances in Nigeria when Muslims have killed non-Muslims for blasphemy.
1. Deborah Samuel Yakubu ( beaten and burnt to death)
Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a Christian, was accused of making a blasphemous speech about the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was reported that she sent a message on WhatsApp condemning Muslim colleagues in the study group for discussing religious postings, which she felt should have been kept for academic reasons alone.
Yakubu was seized from the Shehu Shagari College of Education at Sokoto’s security room on May 12, 2022. Outside the school, a taxi had been waiting to take her to the police station, where she would be secure.
Yakubu was stoned to death by a crowd of her fellow college students before tires were thrown at her and she was set on fire so that she could no longer be recognized.
Witnesses said that security officers used tear gas and warning bullets to try to disperse the crowd, but they were unsuccessful.
After the event, Governor Aminu Tambuwal ordered the institution to be closed indefinitely and began an investigation.
Two teenagers recognized in the video were detained for their involvement in the lynching.
2. Ahmad Usman (burnt to death)
In the early morning hours of June 4, 2022, angry youths in the Federal Housing Authority Estate in Lugbe, which is located inside the Abuja Municipal Area Council, set a vigilante personnel on fire for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
In the Lugbe neighborhood of Abuja, Usman got into a dispute with an unnamed Muslim preacher.
It was the second time in two months that this has happened, the first being the burning to death in May of a Christian lady for allegedly mocking the Prophet Mohammad.
Before the enraged youngsters stormed his hideout, Ahmad Usman a.k.a. Small Hundaru was supposedly being held in a vigilante office in the region.
Local vigilante member Ahmad Usman, 30, was accosted by an irate crowd of roughly 200 people on Saturday.
Before police arrived, Usman had been beaten, stoned, and set on fire by the thugs. They allegedly set his corpse on fire with gasoline and a discarded vehicle tire.
3. 50-year-old Muslim man (Beaten to death)
A 50-year-old Muslim man was beaten to death on the 9th of August 2008 in Kano, Nigeria, for reportedly making a blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad.
The man was murdered in the Sheka Aci Lafiya areas when a group of enraged Muslim youths attacked his home and battered him into a coma.
Despite being a Muslim, the man made a blasphemous comment about the Holy Prophet when his family refused to give him a piece of their late father’s fortune.
SP Baba Mohammed, the Police Public Relations Officer, verified that the event had occurred when he was called.
According to Mohammed, the guy was found alive but died on the way to the hospital. He stated the police were still looking for the perpetrators of the incident, and that the investigation was ongoing.
No one had been arrested, according to Mohammed, who added that the police had restored order to the area.
4. Riots leading to the death of 2
Muslims and police in Bauchi, Nigeria, got into a fight on February 4, 2008, over a lady who was accused of criticizing Islam and the prophet Mohammed through a leaflet.
An angry mob attacked a group of Christian students from the Government Secondary School Bauchi, suspecting them of connection with the blasphemous publication.
In a statement, local churches said the leaflet was disseminated by Muslims as an excuse for violence against Christians.
Angry Muslims attacked police when they refused to turn over the “suspected” person. On the 2nd of February, the police had taken the lady into custody to keep her safe from the onlooking throng.
Youths took over the police station and said that they would enforce the law themselves. Attacks were launched against the Sumaila police station and the cars parked outside.
The irate youths then set fire to the police station and robbed Christian and police homes in the town, according to eyewitness reports.
A police officer, Inspector Jibrin Garba, a Christian, and a civilian were slain in the ensuing violence.
Witnesses said that two more Christian teens were hurt, as well as scores of others. Several hundred individuals were allegedly arrested as a result of the violence.
5. Christiana Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin (beaten, and stabbed to death)
This married mother of two was brutally killed on March 21, 2007, after a Muslim student wrongly accused her of tearing a Qur’an, something she had never done.
At Gandu Government Day Secondary School, a pupil was found to be cheating on an exam.
Mrs. Oluwasesin had seized a piece of paper in which the pupil had scrawled on Arabic. An angry mob of students assaulted Mrs. Oluwasesin, even though another instructor had shown that the book in question wasn’t the Koran and hadn’t even been ripped.
They were assisted by locals attracted to the site by the noise. She was stoned, stripped, beaten, and stabbed to death before her corpse was burnt beyond recognition.
Sixteen people who were suspected of killing the Christian teacher were let go without facing any charges.
Christians in the area were outraged by the decision.
6. 16 killed in Nigerian riots over cartoons
On February 19, 2006, Nigerian Muslims criticizing cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad set fire to 11 churches and rioted in the country’s northern region, killing sixteen people.
In September 2005, a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting the prophet with a turban fashioned like a bomb.
After being published in numerous other periodicals, especially in Europe, the caricatures sparked an outcry that grew in intensity over the following weeks.
In Islam, images of Mohammed are considered blasphemous.
This was Nigeria’s first violent protest and the bloodiest incident in the worldwide rallies against the drawings.
One person died in riots in the North Central state of Katsina, according to police spokesman Haz Iwendi, and 15 people were killed in the northeastern state of Borno.