ECOWAS Court rules Kano blasphemy laws violate Nigeria's human rights commitments

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has ruled that blasphemy provisions under Kano State law violate Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.

The judgment concluded that these laws infringe on the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in regional and global human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory.

The case was filed by the Expression Now Human Rights Initiative (ENHRI), a Nigerian non-governmental organisation, against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The NGO argued that blasphemy laws in various parts of the country, particularly in Kano State, have resulted in arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, and even death sentences for individuals accused of blasphemous speech.

In a panel comprising Judges Ricardo Gonçalves, Sengu Koroma, and Dupe Atoki, the court ruled that Section 210 of the Kano State Penal Code was vague and lacked the legal clarity required by international human rights standards. It further held that Section 382(b) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law (2000), which prescribes the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, was both excessive and disproportionate, failing to meet acceptable standards in a democratic society.

The court declared that both legal provisions were incompatible with Nigeria’s duty to uphold freedom of expression and ordered the federal government to repeal or amend the laws to comply with Article 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. While acknowledging the state’s interest in preserving public order and respecting religious beliefs, the court emphasized that the laws failed the tests of legality, necessity, and proportionality under the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Though the court rejected allegations of state failure to prevent blasphemy-related mob violence due to insufficient evidence, it declared the case admissible with regard to the violation of the right to free expression. It affirmed its jurisdiction, finding the Kano laws inconsistent with Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights law.

The judgment comes in the wake of high-profile cases like that of Mubarak Bala, a self-declared atheist and former president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, who was arrested in April 2020 following social media posts critical of Islam. Bala was tried in Kano and sentenced in 2022 to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to an 18-count charge of blasphemy and incitement. His case attracted global attention and condemnation from human rights groups concerned about freedom of belief and expression in Nigeria. After spending four years behind bars, Bala was released in January 2025 following a successful appeal that reduced his sentence.