ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has ruled that Kano State’s blasphemy laws breach Nigeria’s international human rights obligations, particularly the right to freedom of expression.
Delivering its verdict on Wednesday, on case no: ECW/CCJ/APP/41/23, the court struck down two provisions of Kano State’s legal code as incompatible with regional and international human rights standards.
The case, filed by Nigerian NGO, Expression Now Human Rights Initiative, challenged the constitutionality of laws that have resulted in arbitrary arrests, detentions, and death sentences for alleged blasphemy.
The group also spotlighted disturbing patterns of vigilante killings, alleging the Nigerian government’s failure to protect citizens’ rights to life, religious freedom, and free expression.
While the ECOWAS Court asserted jurisdiction under Article 9(4) of its Protocol, it limited the case’s scope to freedom of expression, ruling that other claims such as the right to life and religious freedom could not be pursued under public interest litigation, actio popularis.
On the merits, the court invalidated Section 210 of the Kano State Penal Code, branding it unconstitutionally vague and lacking legal clarity.
It also struck down Section 382(b) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law (2000), which prescribes the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, calling the punishment “excessive and disproportionate” in a democratic society.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s right to uphold public order and religious respect, the court ruled the blasphemy laws failed key human rights tests of legality, necessity, and proportionality as required by Article 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the ICCPR.
On Mob Justice Allegations
Claims that Nigeria had failed to prevent mob violence related to blasphemy accusations were dismissed for lack of credible evidence. The court held that unverified media reports fell short of the evidentiary threshold.
Consequently, the ECOWAS Court affirmed its jurisdiction over the case; deemed the case admissible only as it concerns freedom of expression; and declared Sections 210 and 382(b) of Kano State’s laws incompatible with international standards.
The court also ordered Nigeria to repeal or amend the laws to align with its human rights obligations.
The panel that delivered the judgment comprised Justices Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, Presiding, Sengu Mohamed Koroma, and Dupe Atoki, Rapporteur.
This ruling could set a precedent for broader reform of blasphemy laws across the region and bolsters ongoing advocacy for stronger protections of free expression in West Africa.
