Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Nigeria

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Nigeria

Updated September 2023

Blasphemy Cases

Ever since some Nigerian states reintroduced Islamic 

or Shari’ah law in 1999, authorities have arrested and 

imprisoned Muslims and non-Muslims alike for perceived 

blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. 

Shari’ah courts occasionally hand down death sentences for 

blasphemy. Incensed citizens and mobs have also accused 

individuals of blasphemy for expressing their own religious 

views or beliefs and burned their homes down or even 

killed them.

Yahaya Sharif-Aminu

religion or belief:

Sufi 

arrested:

March 2020

sentence:

Originally death; Sentenced overturned 

pending new trial

reason for persecution:

Religious expression deemed blasphemous

Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara

religion or belief:

Sufi 

arrested:

July 2021

sentence:

Death

reason for persecution:

Giving sermons deemed blasphemous

Mubarak Bala

religion or belief:

Humanist 

arrested:

April 28, 2020

sentence:

24 Years’ Imprisonment

reports of medical neglect: Yes

reason for persecution:

Posting his beliefs on social media

Abdulazeez Inyass

religion or belief:

Sufi 

arrested:

May 2015

sentence:

Death

reason for persecution:

Religious expression deemed blasphemous

Rhoda Jatau

religion or belief:

Christian 

arrested:

May 20, 2022

reason for persecution:

Speaking out via social media about the mobmurder of a student for alleged blasphemy

Abductions by Non-State Actors

Several Islamist insurgent groups are currently active in 

Nigeria. These groups regularly employ violence against 

civilian populations, including kidnappings, and impose 

Islamic law to varying degrees of severity in territories under 

their control. The Islamic State in West Africa Province 

(ISWAP) is the largest insurgency group.

Leah Sharibu

religion or belief:

Christian 

perpetrator:

ISWAP

abducted:

February 19, 2018

current status:

Unknown

reason for persecution:

Religious belief

FoRB Victims List Stats

9 out of 2,125

Religion or Belief # of Victims

Sufi 3

Shi’a 2

Catholic 1

Humanist 1

Unspecified/Other Christian 1

Unspecified/Other Muslim 1

Total 9

Type of Abuse # of Victims

Detained 6

Imprisoned 3

Total 9

Reports of # of Victims

Torture 0

Medical Neglect 1

Total 1
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Nigeria

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Nigeria

Updated September 2023

Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List Background

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), as amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, 

requires USCIRF to:

make publicly available, to the extent practicable...lists of persons it determines are imprisoned or detained, have 

disappeared, been placed under house arrest, been tortured, or subjected to forced renunciation of faith for their religious 

activity or religious freedom advocacy by the government of a foreign country that the Commission recommends for 

designation as a country of particular concern [CPC]...or by a nonstate actor that the Commission recommends for 

designation as an entity of particular concern [EPC]. 

USCIRF developed the Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List—an online public database—to implement this 

provision for countries USCIRF recommends for Country of Particular Concern (CPC) or Special Watch List (SWL) status. The list also 

includes such victims located in the de facto territories of nonstate actors that USCIRF recommends for Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) 

status, according to the same criteria.

Due to limited resources, USCIRF is unable to identify and document all victims that meet the statutory requirement to be included on 

the FoRB Victims List and generally relies on receiving submissions from outside individuals and organizations. As such, the information 

contained in the database does not reflect country, regional, or global trends. Furthermore, percentages highlighted in this section should 

not be used for extrapolation purposes nor interpreted as a particular group experiencing greater violations than another or a particular 

country committing violations at a greater rate than others. To support this project, USCIRF invites those with credible information on 

victims to submit information using the Victims List Intake Form at www.uscirf.gov/form/uscirf-victims-list-intake-form. 

FoRB Victims List Stats Overall

Perpetrator Victims Documented

Algeria 5

Azerbaijan 11

Burma 5

China 770

Cuba 11

Egypt 18

Eritrea 50

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 2

Houthis 3

India 55

Indonesia 8

Iran 339

Iraq 2

Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) 1

Kazakhstan 15

Malaysia 4

Nicaragua 15

Nigeria 9

North Korea 9

Pakistan 90

Russia 449

Saudi Arabia 46

Sri Lanka 1

Tajikistan 13

Turkmenistan 30

Uzbekistan 87

Vietnam 77

Total 2,125

Religion or Belief Victims Documented

Adivasi 1

Baha’i 163

Bon 1

Buddhist – Hoa Hao 6

Buddhist – Theravada 3

Buddhist – Tibetan 76

Buddhist – Unspecified/Other 28

Christian – Catholic 46

Christian – Church of Almighty God 236

Christian – Jehovah’s Witness 258

Christian – Orthodox 17

Christian – Protestant 130

Christian – Unspecified/Other 66

Duong Van Minh 4

ECKist (Eckankar) 1

Erfan-e Halgheh Practitioner 2

Falun Gong 213

Hindu 10

Humanist 1

Jewish 1

Muslim – Ahmadiyya 23

Muslim – Qur’anist 1

Muslim – Shi’a 39

Muslim – Sufi 63

Muslim – Sunni 385

Muslim – Unspecified/Other 237

Santeria 5

Scientologist 1

Shaman 1

Sikh 1

Yarsani 37

Unknown/Unspecified 69

Total 2,125
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Nigeria

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Nigeria

Updated September 2023

Not Released

Isma’ila Sani Isah

Rhoda Jatau

Yahaya Sharif-Aminu

Abdulazeez Inyass

Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara

Mubarak Bala

Released

Ibrahim El Zakzaky

Luka Binniyat

Zeenah Ibraheem