ABUJA – There is an urgent need for effective protection and inclusion of people of all people, irrespective of their belief or religion, in Nigeria in order to secure freedom of religion or belief for all on an equal basis, a UN expert said today.
“Discussion of freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria elicits very acute concerns about insecurity, violence and conflict which has spread throughout the country and has generated huge alarm, albeit to different intensities and for different reasons,” said Nazila Ghanea, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, in a statement at the end of her visit to the country.
“Impunity and lack of accountability have reportedly entrenched cycles of fear and violence and encouraged its spread,” she said. “Questions regarding marginalisation and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief in Nigeria have been overshadowed by these security concerns.”
Ghanea recalled that Nigeria, the sixth most populous country in the world, is a country of multiple, multilayered diversities and a rich pluralism. Yet the narratives about Nigeria, and even related structures and policies, are often reductive and polarising of this pluralism, she said. “No one description is adequate to capture the whole picture of freedom of religion or belief throughout the country, and the search for a single explanatory framework may be tempting but it proves highly inadequate,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Religion is utilised as a dominant organising principle across the country, but contextualised accounts are also necessary.”
“Although core fundamental rights such as freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, and the rights to life and dignity are guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution, enjoyment of these rights come into tension at the state level within the plural legal systems related to personal status matters, blasphemy, hate speech, and criminal punishments,” Ghanea said. “My visit focused on the enjoyment of these rights on the ground.”
“There is no doubt that Nigeria has the expertise and experts as well as inspirational committed youth to secure freedom of thought, conscience and religion for all on an equal basis. There is also no doubt that there is a long way to go until that is fully realised,” she said.
The Special Rapporteur will present a full report on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2027.
