Group Calls for Safeguards to Protect Religious Freedom

James Emejo and Aminat Hassan in Abuja

Advocacy group, Hope Behind Bars Africa (HBBA), has warned that freedom of religion or belief remains fragile in Nigeria, particularly when its exercise triggers arrest, detention, prosecution or restrictions on expression.
The concern came amid growing intersection between religious expression and the country’s criminal justice system which had come under fresh scrutiny.
The organisation, which works on criminal justice reform and civic space, opened a three-part regional dialogue in Abuja to examine how justice institutions respond when religious identity, belief or expression becomes connected to alleged criminal conduct.
The discussion, held under the theme, “Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief in Nigeria: From Dialogue to Action,” brought together lawyers, faith leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, researchers, civil society organisations, government institutions and international partners.
Rather than treating freedom of religion or belief solely as a question of interfaith relations, the dialogue placed the issue within the wider workings of the police, courts, correctional institutions, prosecutors and other state institutions responsible for enforcing the law.
Executive Director of HBBA, Oluwafunke Adeoye, said the organisation’s experience with people who had allegedly suffered violations of their religious freedom showed the need to examine what happens after such cases enter the criminal justice system.
She said, “Some of them find themselves behind bars, or some of them find themselves within the criminal justice system with no real way to navigate it.”
Adeoye said the issue becomes more complicated where religious identity or practice is linked to an allegation of criminal conduct, raising questions about the limits of state intervention and the protection available to citizens.
She asked, “What happens when someone’s religious identity or practice becomes connected to an allegation of criminal conduct?”
The concern, she added, extends to digital spaces, where religious expression can rapidly become the subject of official intervention.
“You put out a faith-based post online and then you are arrested and you are incarcerated for months. What happens in that instance?” she asked.
The group noted that issues was simply not whether Nigerians have the constitutional right to religious belief, but whether that right remains effectively protected when an individual comes into contact with the machinery of criminal justice.
That distinction dominated the Abuja convening, which also examined freedom of expression, religious speech, minority and dissenting beliefs, and the limits of state power.
International human rights lawyer, Tsema Ede, said Nigeria needed to move beyond an approach that merely permits people of different beliefs to coexist towards one that guarantees equal citizenship.
“We must move from tolerance to belonging,” Ede said.
She argued that a rights-based constitutional democracy should protect citizens equally rather than treat differences in belief as something that must simply be endured.
“True constitutional democracy demands equal citizenship and mutual respect, not mere endurance,” she added.
Ede drew attention to the legal foundations of freedom of religion or belief under Nigeria’s constitutional framework and international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
She noted that the right encompasses the freedom to hold or change a religion or belief and to manifest such belief through teaching, practice and worship.
But she also linked the protection of religious freedom to other rights, including freedom of expression, equality before the law and protection against arbitrary arrest.
The linkage became particularly significant during a panel session that examined “Freedom of Religion or Belief within Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System and the Limits of State Power.”
The panel considered the criminalisation of religious speech and blasphemy, protection of minority and dissenting beliefs, as well as the risks posed by online disinformation and inflammatory narratives as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.
The organisation also used the event to spotlight its Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) Monitor, through which it tracks cases involving alleged unlawful detention and arbitrary arrests and provides legal aid and rapid-response support through its Lawyers Volunteer Network.
The focus on criminal justice also gave the dialogue a wider civic-space dimension, particularly as political activity and public debate intensify ahead of the 2027 elections.
Participants subsequently turned to practical measures, examining how law and policy, documentation, access to justice, interfaith engagement and responsible media practice could be strengthened to protect freedom of religion or belief.
The discussions also recognised that the religious freedom debate cannot be confined to the country’s two dominant faith communities.
Ede observed that public conversations on religion often centre on Christians and Muslims, potentially leaving smaller religious communities and people with minority or dissenting beliefs outside the protection afforded by the wider debate.