Christian persecution watchdogs are denouncing the acquittal of five Nigerian men charged with murdering an elderly Christian woman whom they accused of blasphemy.
The Christian groups called the decision rendered by the Kano State Magistrate Court on Thursday as a "miscarriage of justice," according to Fides News Agency.
In a statement, the International Christian Concern (ICC), one of the persecution watchdog groups, said, "The sad reality of persecution is that there may never be justice served for those who persecuted them; not on this Earth anyway."
The ICC said the court verdict sends a "scary message" to Christians in Nigeria that "they will have no protection against an extremist mob that may execute them" while also sending an "encouraging message to Islam extremists who may choose violence to display their hatred against Christians."
Bridget Patience Agbahime, a 74-year-old Christian street vendor, was beaten to death on June 2 by an angry Muslim mob who accused her of insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, reports said.
Before she died, Agbahime denied having said a word that insulted the Islamic prophet. During the trial, witnesses also testified that the elderly woman was a person respectful of others.
Despite this, the judge cleared the five accused murder suspects and set them free on Nov. 3.
Agbahime was just one of the thousands of Christians killed by Islamic extremists in Nigeria. According to the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN), 384 believers were killed during the first half of this year, a number that already equalled the total number killed in 2015, with the Christian death toll still rising.
"Whatever the federal government is doing, if anything, is either too slow or insignificant compared with the reoccurrence of the killings," Pastor Ade Oyesile, executive director of CANAN, said in July.
"The federal government needs to step up and take bold actions to give members of the Christian community in the country a sense of security and belonging. We must all work hard to avoid these sectarian killings which in our very eyes have made countries embroiled in it to become failed nations. That should not be our portion in Jesus Christ name," Oyesile said.
