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Posts tagged with "Blasphemy"

Christian woman accused of blasphemy ‘traumatized’ in jail - pastor

Rev. Ishaku Dano, a pastor in Nigeria’s Bauchi State, says the life of Christian health worker Rhoda Ya’u Jatau is in danger, writes Masara Kim. Jatau has been imprisoned since May 2022 for allegedly blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad.

press releases · 13. December 2022

Open letter calls on Sec. Blinken to help free Nigerian woman jailed for blasphemy

On 13 December 2022, a large coalition of religious freedom and human rights organizations, experts and practitioners released an open letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking him to intervene on behalf of Rhoda Ya’u Jatau, a Nigerian Christian woman imprisoned while waiting trial for blasphemy.

Husband of Christian woman imprisoned for blasphemy: "I have not slept since she was arrested."

Rhoda Ya’u Jatau, 45, has been held by the Bauchi State authorities since 20 May on allegations of blasphemy. For close to six months, her husband Ya’u Adamu has endured the pain of his wife's incarceration, writes Masara Kim.

Masara Kim: "When the next generation comes, they should know that somebody did something."

CSI's Joel Veldkamp and Franklyne Ogbunwezeh interview Masara Kim, a courageous Christian journalist from Plateau State in #Nigeria, about the situation for Christians in his country, and the historical roots of the current persecution.

In Bauchi State, another blasphemy allegation leads to violence

Just over a week after the brutal murder of a Christian college student in Sokoto, Muslim residents attacked Christians in Katanga, Bauchi state. As in Deborah Samuel’s case, locals accused a female Christian health worker, Rhoda Ya’u, of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed, following a comment she made in a government employee WhatsApp group. According to witnesses, the accusation prompted more than 200 teenagers, led by a few adults, to gather to attack Ya'u.

Rampaging Muslim mobs target Christians in Nigeria’s Sokoto State after ‘blasphemy’ killing

Muslim mobs on 14 May targeted Christians in Nigeria’s Sokoto State in violent protests over the arrest of gang leaders who had killed a Christian college student, Deborah Yakubu, two days earlier. Properties belonging to Christians in Sokoto city, including churches, were damaged, writes Masara Kim.

What led up to the lynching of a Christian university student in Nigeria?

Masara Kim investigates the events that led to Deborah's murder, and the history of blasphemy killings in Nigeria. On the morning of 12 May, Deobrah was dragged out of class during an examination. “Some of her mates shielded her and smuggled her to the security office in the college but police who were deployed early enough did not go to the scene to rescue her. Instead, they fired teargas from outside,” said one source.

Christian Student Murdered by Mob in Northern Nigeria

A Nigerian Christian student was murdered on her university campus yesterday by a mob of Muslim students who accused her of blaspheming Islam. Two videos posted online show the aftermath of the killing. In one, a half dozen men beat Deborah’s lifeless body with sticks while they shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). A second video shows her body burning while her killers boast about killing her.