Nigerian Mother Jailed 19 Months on Blasphemy Charge Receives Religious Freedom Award
Rhoda Jatau, acquitted in 2024 after sharing a video condemning a mob killing, was honored with an award named for a Pakistani Christian slain over blasphemy laws.
BAUCHI STATE, Nigeria —
Rhoda Jatau, a Christian mother of five from Nigeria who spent more than 19 months in custody on a blasphemy charge, has received the Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award, The Christian Post reported Oct. 25. The award was presented Friday by the First Step Forum, an international religious freedom network. ADF International, a Christian legal advocacy group, nominated her.
The award is named for Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian and former member of Pakistan's parliament who was assassinated in 2011 for opposing that country's blasphemy laws. It goes each year to one person the forum believes has shown unusual courage in advancing religious freedom and human rights.
“For over a year I did not see my children. I could only hear about them,” Jatau said at the ceremony, according to the report.
Authorities in Bauchi State in northern Nigeria arrested Jatau on May 20, 2022, after a WhatsApp message she sent was viewed as blasphemous and led to rioting. She had reportedly shared a video condemning the mob killing of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Christian student who had been accused of blasphemy over her own WhatsApp post.
Jatau was charged with inciting a public disturbance, exciting contempt of a religious creed and cyberstalking. A judge granted her bail in December 2023, but she was later moved to a secret location, denied bail again and held without contact. She was acquitted in December 2024. Her lawyer, Joseph Bata Danboyi, said international pressure was what led to her release and that hers was the first blasphemy case in Bauchi State.
Nazila Ghanea, the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, spoke up for Jatau while she was held and attended the ceremony. “Religious persecution thrives when the world looks away,” said Giorgio Mazzoli, ADF International's head of United Nations advocacy.
ADF International called on Nigeria and other nations to repeal their blasphemy laws. The group is also backing Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim musician held for more than six years on a blasphemy charge who is awaiting a ruling from Nigeria's Supreme Court.
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