Christian Association of Nigeria and Alliance Defending Freedom sue two universities in Katsina State over ban on Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus.
According to ADF International, which is representing CAN in the suit, the two universities are violating the right to religious freedom by indefinitely prohibiting Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus. ADF International said that the ban has caused substantial and irreparable harm to the members of the Christian groups, who have been denied their freedom to worship and fellowship.
According to ADF International, both the state and federal universities in question first banned the use of university facilities for Christian religious activities, including worship and fellowship, in 2017 and 2022. The bans have been in place ever since, and have not been lifted despite protests from the affected Christian groups.
One of the universities, which has not been named, enforced the ban by locking all worship and fellowship centers on campus, preventing Christian students and groups from accessing the facilities. The university also prohibited the groups from meeting for worship and fellowship elsewhere on campus.
“Meanwhile, Muslim student groups at both universities have been permitted to hold worship and fellowship meetings in university-constructed worship and meeting spaces.
“Both universities have relatively high percentages of Christian students and faculty despite Katsina being a Muslim-majority state,” the statement added.
One Christian student in one of the universities was quoted as saying, “We only want to be able to freely gather and worship as Christians on equal terms with other religious faiths. It is wrong that our universities are preventing us from exercising our most basic, fundamental rights.”
The ADF International’s lead attorney on the case, Sean Nelson stated that “No person should be discriminated against for their faith, and the actions of these state and federal universities are plainly unjust.
“The world continues to watch as Nigerian authorities regularly violate the religious freedom rights of their citizens. This kind of discrimination against Christian students cannot be allowed to spread.
“These two universities should immediately revoke these discriminatory policies and allow Christians on their campuses to gather and worship freely.”
CAN, which filed the lawsuits on behalf of the Christian students, has said that the discrimination by the universities against Christian worship has been widely condemned by Christians in Katsina and across Nigeria. CAN said that it has received numerous reports of discrimination against Christians in these universities and has taken action to protect the religious freedom of all students.
“It is worrisome to see such discrimination against Christians getting stronger. No government-run educational institution should be discriminating based on religion.
“We ask the rest of the world to condemn this discrimination as well and to join us in praying that the right to worship freely, on campus and elsewhere, will be fully restored.”
The ADF International stated that the lawsuit on behalf of the students was instituted under the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that protect Nigerian citizens’ right to freedom of religion or belief, noting that “ADF International is supporting the case.”
On Nigeria’s religious freedom track record, ADF International stated that “Together with other religious minorities in Nigeria, the persecution of Christians in Nigeria is especially severe.
“Worldwide, over 5,500 Christians were killed for their faith in 2022. Of those, 90% were Nigerian. At least 200 Christians were murdered by militants in Plateau State, Nigeria, this past Christmas.
“The criminalisation of blasphemy in Nigeria carries with it dangerous implications for the country as a whole.
“In a country of more than 200 million, split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, blasphemy laws are a significant driver of societal tensions.
“These laws punish the innocent for expressing their beliefs, silence people from sharing their faith, and perpetuate societal violence.
“Blasphemy laws throughout Nigeria encourage brutal mob violence and inflict severe harm on minority Muslims, Christian converts, and others.
“ADF International is supporting the legal defence of Nigerian musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for sharing song lyrics that were deemed “blasphemous” on WhatsApp.
“With the support of ADF International, Yahaya is appealing his case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the hopes of overturning the death penalty blasphemy laws in Nigeria. Yahaya, imprisoned for nearly four years, is awaiting his appeal.
“ADF International also is supporting the defence of Rhoda Jatau, a Christian and mother of five from Nigeria. Jatau, who was recently granted bail, had been imprisoned since May 2022 for allegedly sharing a video on WhatsApp condemning the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Nigerian university student who was murdered and set on fire by a mob of her classmates in May 2022 for sharing her Christian faith. Rhoda is currently awaiting the continuation of her trial.”