Threat of Prison Awaits Christian Mother Granted Bail in Nigeria

After 19 months in jail, Rhoda Jatau awaits a ‘blasphemy’ verdict.

Rhoda Jatau, a 45-year-old mother of five, was released on bail on Saturday (December 9) following pressure from Nigerian Christian leaders and international rights advocates, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), supporting her Nigerian defense attorney.

“After 19 long months in prison, we are happy that Rhoda has finally been released on bail,” ADF International’s allied lawyer in Nigeria said in a press statement. “We thank all who have been praying for Rhoda and ask for your prayers as her case continues.”

A judge of the Bauchi State High Court of Justice granted bail after Jatau was jailed in May 2022 for allegedly sharing a video on WhatsApp condemning the killing of Deborah Emmanuel Samuel, a Nigerian university student who was set on fire and killed by her classmates for sharing her Christian faith.

According to ADF International, Jatau had been repeatedly denied bail and detained incommunicado, with only intermittent access to legal counsel and family members during court appearances.

“We are glad to see that Rhoda Jatau has finally been granted bail after being denied it for so long,” Sean Nelson, legal counsel for ADF International, said in a press statement. “No person should be punished for peaceful expression, and international religious freedom advocates must continue to speak up on Rhoda’s behalf. We will continue to seek justice for Rhoda, and we hope the unjust charges against her will be dropped completely.”

Jatau’s attorneys had previously filed a “no case submission” with a judge in Bauchi State, arguing that the prosecution had not proven the critical elements of their case against her.

In response to appeals from ADF International and other religious freedom advocacy organizations, United Nations officials sent a joint allegation letter to the Nigerian government earlier this year. The letter emphasized the danger of blasphemy laws as a violation of international human rights and called attention to Jatau’s unjust imprisonment, according to ADF International.

According to ADF International, Jatau’s trial was scheduled to resume on Tuesday (December 19), but holiday schedules could push the next court date into 2024.

Along with appeals from ADF, the United Nations, and other advocacy organizations, Christian leaders in Bauchi state worked on her behalf, said the Rev. Abraham Damina Dumus, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bauchi State.

“The leadership of CAN in Bauchi was invited on December 8 to meet with state government officials and authorities of security agencies, where we discussed the case extensively, and it was resolved that the state attorney general should handle the issue and grant the woman bail,” Dumas said. On December 9, the court’s registrar invited her lawyer, and she received bail at this point.

Christian leaders in Bauchi State had made prior efforts to obtain her release. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had requested her release since the alleged offenses were bailable, but the court declined, Dumas said.

“This caused an uproar from Christians across the country, and Christians indicted us Christian leaders for not doing enough to get Rhoda Jatau released from detention,” Dumas said. “However, many didn’t know we were silently working on all fronts to get her released.”

After meeting with national CAN leaders, Christian leaders in Nigeria on December 4 wrote to the Bauchi state governor requesting his intervention for bail, he said.

Jatau was charged with religious insult and public disturbance. A copy of the court capture against her states that on May 20, 2022, she “posted a video that disparages Allah, Prophet Muhammad, his parents, and the entire Muslim community to a Warji group (WhatsApp) of Primary Healthcare Authority of Warji Local Government Area with the intent to cause the religious crisis. You, therefore, committed the aforestated offense contrary to Sections 114, 210 of the Penal Code Law and Section 24 subsection 15(b) of the Cybercrime Prohibition Prevention Act 2015 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kwaltings said.

“A video clip emanated from a person in Ghana, a West African country, condemning the killing of Deborah Samuel,” Dumas said. “The video was widely circulated on WhatsApp. Someone sent this video clip to Rhoda Jatau’s WhatsApp account.”

He said that Jatau’s daughter took her phone to a roadside shop to be charged, as Warji had a power outage.