Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with an estimated 219 million people. Among these, an estimated 53.5 percent identify as Muslim; 45.9 percent identify as Christian; and 0.6 percent identify with other religious beliefs, including atheism, the Baha’i faith, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and African traditional religions. The 1999 Constitution protects freedom of religion or belief and prohibits the state from establishing a state religion and from discriminating on the basis of religion. The Nigerian Criminal Code includes a penalty of up to two years imprisonment for insulting a person’s religion. Additionally, 12 Muslim-majority northern states use Islamic Shari’a criminal and family codes alongside civil and customary laws; these Shari’a codes prohibit blasphemy. Religion in Nigeria plays a strong role in social and political life. There are also deeply entrenched religious divisions and mistrust. Often, religious tensions overlap with ethnic identity, exacerbating ethnoreligious conflicts driven by both the religious and ethnic aspects of victims’ and perpetrators’ identities. The Nigerian government is currently conducting military operations against Boko Haram and ISWAP in the northeast of the country. Despite federal government claims that it has defeated Boko Haram, these groups remain significant threats to civilians and religious freedom in the Lake Chad Basin region. Human rights abuses by Nigerian counterterrorism actors have reportedly exacerbated insecurity and put civilian lives at risk. Attacks on Houses of Worship and Religious Ceremonies In February, Boko Haram militants attacked Garkida, a town known as the foundation of the Church of the Brethren in the country, burning at least five churches. In a series of attacks in Kaduna State in March, suspected Fulani militants burned four churches. In April, armed assailants believed to be affiliated with Fulani militias attacked a Christian wedding ceremony in Niger State, killing 12 people and abducting the bride and groom. In July, unidentified gunmen killed 18 people at a Christian wedding party in Kaduna State and injured 30 others. In May, reported Islamist extremists attacked a community as people were preparing to break their Ramadan fast, killing at least 20 people. That same month, reported jihadist elements attacked the city of Maiduguri as locals were preparing celebrations of the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha, killing four people and wounding three others. In October, unidentified criminals burned down two mosques in Enugu in the south of the country. Militant Islamist Extremism Militant Islamist groups in northern Nigeria continue to hold territory and commit severe attacks and human rights abuses in northeast Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad Basin region. Moreover, these groups have expanded their territory west, with ISWAP now conducting activities in Sokoto State and Boko Haram operating in Kaduna State. ISWAP fighters abducted and executed Ropvil Daciya Dalep, a Christian university student, in January; abducted a Christian pastor and two women in Borno State in October; and executed five aid workers as a warning to “all those being used by infidels to convert Muslims to Christianity.” Boko Haram fighters abducted Reverend Lawan Andimi, local CAN chairman in Adamawa State, and later beheaded him, reportedly because he would not renounce his faith. In December, after threatening attacks against Christians during the Christmas season, Boko Haram fighters conducted three attacks against Christian communities in northern Nigeria, killing at least 12 people and abducting an Evangelical pastor. Additionally, in January, jihadist group Ansaru reemerged in Niger State for the first time since 2013, claiming responsibility for an attack on “apostates” in August. Religious Prisoners of Conscience In 2020, state authorities violated several Nigerian individuals’ rights to freedom of religion or belief, including by escalating enforcement of blasphemy laws in comparison to previous years. In August, a Shari’a court in Kano State convicted Yahaya Sharif-Aminu of blasphemy for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a private WhatsApp message and sentenced him to death— a higher court later invalidated the conviction and demanded a retrial. Kano authorities also found 16-year-old Omar Farouk guilty of blasphemy and detained him throughout the year, although his conviction was overturned in early 2021 and he was released. Police also arrested prominent atheist activist Mubarak Bala in April 2020 after a coalition of lawyers in Kano State filed a petition accusing him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in Facebook posts. For more than eight months, Kano State police detained Bala without charges, limiting his access to his legal team and refusing to provide proof of his whereabouts and wellbeing to his family. In December, after many months of delay, a federal court ruled Bala’s detention unconstitutional and ordered his release—however, as of the end of 2020, Bala remained in Kano State police custody despite this order. Key U.S. Policy In December 2019, the U.S. Department of State included Nigeria for the first time on its Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom pursuant to IRFA. A year later, on December 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated Nigeria as a CPC for engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations under IRFA, an action USCIRF had recommended every year since 2009. However, at the same time it made the CPC designation, the State Department issued a waiver on any related sanctions as required in the “important national interest of the United States,” pursuant to Section 407 of IRFA. U.S. funding to Nigeria continued to prioritize humanitarian assistance and economic development. In November, the United States and Nigeria cohosted a meeting of the coalition against the Islamic State and affirmed their commitment to defeating Boko Haram and ISWAP. U.S. diplomatic efforts in Nigeria included peaceful conflict resolution programming in regions experiencing high levels of violence as well as monitoring cases of religious prisoners of conscience. In November, following Nigerian authorities’ violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators protesting police abuse, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari condemning state-sanctioned violence against peaceful nonviolent protesters in Nigeria and calling for dialogue. Texas Representatives Al Green and Joaquin Castro introduced a resolution supporting the protesters to the U.S. House of Representatives. U S C I R F – R E C O M M E N D E D F O R C O U N T R I E S O F PA R T I C U L A R C O N C E R N ( C P C ) 31 NIGERIA Background