CASE CLOSED: No evidence of religious persecution in Nigeria, says UN expert

Prof Ghanea said, “There are pockets where horrendous mass atrocities and international crimes are being experienced, on the other hand. Did we see a direct government instruction up and down, left and right throughout Nigeria, with an intentionality of destroying one religious community or another? I did not.”

There is no evidence that cases of mass killings, displacement, abduction and related incidents in the country are directed at a particular belief system to qualify as religious persecution, a United Nations expert has said.

UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Professor Nazila Ghanea, said people are forced to assume this owing to the government’s glaringly inadequate capacity to provide necessary safeguards and to bring perpetrators to justice within a reasonable time.

Prof Ghanea said, “There are pockets where horrendous mass atrocities and international crimes are being experienced, on the other hand. Did we see a direct government instruction up and down, left and right throughout Nigeria, with an intentionality of destroying one religious community or another? I did not.”

“But inadequate responses to security concerns and repeated violations of horrific violence will naturally lead to people thinking that there is complicity.”

She added, “When such attacks repeat time and again with justice not being seen to be done, this is understandably described by the victims as ‘persecution’ or ‘genocide’.

“When everything in one’s world has been reduced to dust, when religious leaders have been killed and places of worship destroyed in that attack, when one has seen no action, inadequate prevention or the delivery of justice from the authorities, then why would one think otherwise? Such victims also see the authorities – both at the state and the Federal level – as culpable.”

Prof Ghanea, who spoke in Abuja, said the scale of mass killings that have been witnessed in the country could qualify as genocide.

The UN Special Rapporteur spoke while presenting preliminary observations and recommendations of her official visit to the country between 8 and 19 to explore how freedom of thought, conscience and religion (freedom of religion or belief) interacts with human rights realities on the ground throughout the country.

She explained that her visit was to explore freedom of thought, conscience and religion as upheld in international instruments; non-discrimination on the basis of religion or belief; and the consideration of violations of human rights carried out in the name of religion, and to present her report to the UN Human Rights Council.

Prof Ghanea, whose activities were limited to Kano and Plateau states, said one of the contributors said the constitution needed to be elevated because many of its provisions are not being activated and the benefits are not evenly felt by the people across the country.

The UN expert noted that the right to freedom of religion is not evenly enjoyed across the country, citing cases where people have been killed on allegations of blasphemy.

She spoke about the relationship between the federal and state governments regarding the enjoyment of core fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, including freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; freedom of expression; non-discrimination; and the rights to life and dignity.

“Access to the enjoyment of these rights comes into tension at the state level within the plural legal systems in relation to personal status matters, blasphemy, hate speech, and criminal punishments which were introduced in Nigeria’s northern states in the early 2000s.

“At the very least, it creates departures from fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution,” she said.

Prof. Ghanea noted a contradiction in how governments in the country deal with religion, citing the emphasis on religion in appointments, employment, and access to government services.

She said, “Nobody should be compelled to declare their religion or belief according to international human rights

law and Nigerian constitutional safeguards, yet it is reported that administrative forms in Nigeria routinely ask for religion – across processes related to the federal government, states and the private sector.”

The UN expert said that although the country has the capacity to guarantee religious freedom, it still has a long way to go in view of the many existing contradictions.

She said, “The robust conversations with the over 200 interlocutors from 8 June through to today have attested to the richness of the civic space in Nigeria and the courage of victims who are bold, outspoken and committed to the betterment of society for the good of all.

“There is no doubt that Nigeria has the expertise, experts and committed, inspirational youth to secure freedom of thought, conscience and religion for all, but there is a long way to go until that is fully realised.”

Prof Ghanea said their activities were limited to Plateau and Kano states due to security, finance and time constraints.

She said the full report of her visit to the country would be presented to the UN next March.