A Nigerian Christian man, tortured and imprisoned after a wrongful conviction, was vindicated by the Nigerian High Court after a religious freedom legal group intervened.
Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF International) reported that a man the organization calls “David” (a pseudonym used to protect his identity) helped two women move to a safer area after they converted to Christianity. Islamist militants detained David, a church leader, as well as another church leader involved in the relocation, and tortured them. After they were handed to the police, the other church leader obtained legal assistance, was released and received no charges. However, the magistrate court charged David with kidnapping and sentenced him to nine years in prison in what ADF called a “three-day sham trial” where David received no legal representation.
ADF International announced David’s release on Aug. 4 after ADF-supported lawyers fought for his release on bail, appealed the conviction and won. The Nigerian High Court dropped his charges and reversed David’s fine, ordering its return.
David said in a press release: “Despite the persecution in my community, I know that I have everlasting life. This is our encouragement. My community and I, in the Christian faith, rejoice on account of the assurance of the Word of God. This is our confidence and peace.”
Sean Nelson, legal counsel for global religious freedom at ADF International, believes the case reflects a larger picture of what Christians in Nigeria face.
“This case is a powerful reminder of the urgent crisis facing Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria,” said Nelson. “David was tortured, prosecuted and imprisoned simply for helping a woman escape violence because of her faith. We welcome the court’s decision in this case and pray that others will never have to face what David went through. Protections for religious freedom must increase within Northern Nigeria.”
Although the government also persecutes Christians through its laws and policies, persecution and violence in Nigeria largely stem from the Islamic terrorist groups Boko Haram and Muslim Fulani militias.
A recent study by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) highlights the growing violence occurring in African countries due to the growing presence of militant Islamist groups in Africa. The study, released in July, found that over 150,000 murders were conducted by militant Islamist groups over the last decade. In Africa, 22,307 people have been killed by such groups in the past year ending on June 30.
Comparing the 2020-2022 period to 2023, deaths linked to these groups increased by 60% in the Sahel region and Somalia. The Sahel includes Nigeria and other countries such as Niger, Sudan, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. In the past year, almost half of the deaths occurred in the Sahel, and deaths caused by these militant groups increased by 18% in Nigeria over the past year.
Nigeria is the deadliest country for Christians to live in, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2024. The list reports that 82% of the Christians murdered worldwide for their faith in 2024 were in Nigeria. Tallying the number of deaths in each country globally, data shows that the death of Christians combined in countries outside Nigeria do not reach the number of deaths in Nigeria alone.
