A Christian mother of five children in Nigeria who spent 19 months in jail on baseless blasphemy charges was acquitted last week, according to legal advocacy group ADF International.
Rhoda Jatau was imprisoned in Bauchi state in May 2022 for allegedly sharing a video on WhatsApp condemning the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a university student in Nigeria killed that same month by a mob of Muslim classmates for sharing her Christian faith.
Jatau was granted bail in December 2023 and sought safety in an undisclosed location during her trial. A judge in Bauchi state announced her full acquittal last week, according to ADF International, which supported her legal defense.
A Nigerian attorney allied with ADF International who served as lead counsel for her, while maintaining anonymity for security reasons, expressed thanks for the outcome.
"After a two-and-a-half-year ordeal, including 19 long months in prison, we are happy that Rhoda finally has been acquitted of any wrongdoing," the attorney said. "We thank all who have been praying for Rhoda, and we ask for your continued prayers as Nigerians continue to push back against persecution."
Jatau was charged with public disturbance (section 114 of the Bauch State Penal Code) and religious insult (section 210), and conviction would have brought up to five years in prison. Judges repeatedly denied her bail and detained her incommunicado with only intermittent access to legal counsel and family members during court appearances before she finally obtained bail, according to ADF International.
A judge in Bauchi state had refused to dismiss the case despite a "no case submission" filed by Jatau's lawyers when prosecutors rested due to serious evidentiary problems, the group stated.
"Jatau's lawyers raised significant legal failures in the prosecution's case and argued that they had not established the basic elements of their case against Jatau," an ADF International press statement noted. "The grant of bail and final acquittal followed international outcry over Jatau's imprisonment."
Blasphemy laws are a significant driver of societal tension in a country of more than 200 million people that is split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, ADF International stated.
"These laws punish the innocent for expressing their beliefs, silence people from sharing their faith, and perpetuate societal violence," the statement read. "Blasphemy laws throughout Nigeria encourage brutal mob violence and inflict severe harm on minority Muslims, Christian converts and others."
Sean Nelson, legal counsel for ADF International, expressed thanks for the end of the Jatau's ordeal.
"We are thankful to God for Rhoda's full acquittal and an end to the ordeal she has endured for far too long," Nelson said. "No person should be punished for peaceful expression, and we are grateful that Rhoda Jatau has been fully acquitted. But Rhoda should never have been arrested in the first place. We will continue to seek justice for Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria who are unjustly imprisoned and plagued by the draconian blasphemy laws."
Jatau was working as head of Primary Healthcare Centre in Warji when the Christian university student in Sokoto was killed on May 12, 2022. A video clip condemning the mob killing and burning of Yakubu's body appeared on social media, and outraged Muslims in Warji accused Jatau of sharing the video and attacked the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) congregation where she was in a worship service.
The ECWA church building was destroyed along with homes of other Christians in Warji town, some Christians were injured, and Jatau was arrested by personnel of the Department of State Services, the government's secret service.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors' 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300.
Nigeria was also the third highest country in number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report.
In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as it was in the previous year.
