WASHINGTON, D.C.,22 August 2026 | On occasion of the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, 22nd August 2026, over 30 members of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF RT) in DC, the Religious Liberty Partnership and several key actors in the religious freedom space have signed onto a letter to the Ambassador of Nigeria in DC expressing their grave concern with the lack of investigation into the brutal murder of Christian Nigerian university student Deborah Samuel Yakubu (Emmanuel) at the hands of her Muslim male classmates for alleged blasphemy in May 2022 in Sokoto State, Nigeria.
The group of international advocates for religious freedom join the Nigerian National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions, and Impunity (NCAMKI) in calling for accountability for the murder of Deborah. As of August 2026, over four years after the murder of Deborah, none of the perpetrators who beat Deborah to death in Nigeria have been brought to justice for her murder even if it was documented on film and live streamed. Neither has the government of Nigeria responded to an August 2023, UN Communication submitted by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, asking for information regarding the status of investigations into the killing of Deborah.
The multi-faith letter submitted by religious freedom advocates commemorates the life and legacy of Deborah noting she was, “a bright 19-year-old and second-year student of economics at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State, northwestern Nigeria.” Her parents have also shared about her strong Christian faith and love of the Lord. On May 12th 2022, intolerant Muslim-identifying students, in a vicious hate attack, murdered Deborah Emmanuel for alleged blasphemy for a comment she made in a Whatsapp group. The perpetrators beat Deborah to death and burned her. Several celebrated their violent actions online.
Not only was the murder of Deborah not investigated but those who condemned the violence faced backlash. For example, opposition party presidential hopeful Atiku Abubaker took down his social media posts condemning the killing of Deborah after Muslim supporters vowed not to vote for him.
The letter, in addition to expressing grave concern, calls on the Nigerian government to investigate the murder of Deborah Emmanuel, ensuring a right to a fair trial, “which not only provides due process for the accused, but also honors the family of the victim the right to justice.” The letter also calls for protection and compensation to the family of Deborah for the hate crime perpetrated against her and calls on Nigeria to “remove the sanction of the death penalty for blasphemy, adultery and other non-violent conduct in Nigeria’s northern states, in compliance with Nigeria’s Constitution and international law commitments” and work to “harmonise its laws with international human rights norms.”
The letter makes mention of the EU resolution: The risk of death penalty and execution of singer Yahaya Sharif Aminu for blasphemy in Nigeria, which urges the Nigerian Government to tackle the impunity surrounding killings following blasphemy accusations and urges Nigeria to “immediately withdraw the use of capital punishment for blasphemy and take steps towards full abolition.”
In addition to the EU there are two resolutions at the US congress calling for accountability for victims of religiously motivated violence in Nigeria, including Deborah: H.R.7457 – Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 and H.Res.866 – Condemning the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and standing ready to support President Donald J. Trump in taking decisive action to end the existential threat that persecuted Christians face in Nigeria.
The letter will be presented to the Embassy of Nigeria in DC on occasion of the upcoming International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, 22nd August 2026.
Nigeria is under growing pressure from international human rights monitoring mechanisms, including within its own continent, for the egregious anti-blasphemy laws and related religious freedom and freedom of expression violations that have been tolerated in the northern states.
The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) last year released its “landmark judgement” calling on Nigeria to strike down two key blasphemy provisions in Kano State law as violations of international human rights standards. The Court specifically identified Section 382(b) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law (2000), which imposes the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam, as “excessive and disproportionate” in a democratic society. There are over 10 states in Northern Nigeria which sanction the death penalty for blasphemy, in clear violation of international law. These laws have been condemned in the UK parliament on several occasions, twice in the EU parliament in 2023 and 2025, and in the US Congress.
In the domestic court – the Supreme Court of Nigeria – Kola Alapinni and his legal team are challenging the constitutionality of the Kano anti-blasphemy law and calling for the release of Yahaya Sharif Aminu arbitrarily detained on blasphemy allegations since March 2020. Kola Alapinni has shared that the ECOWAS decision implication is that the anti-blasphemy laws need to be struck down, which means “everybody has to be set free.” He shared that the ECOWAS decision means that the Supreme Court has their job “clearly cut out for them.” He added, “the decision shows that we are on to a winner and that they [Nigeria] can run but they cannot hide.” Nigerian authorities have been detaining Sufi singer Yahia Sharif Aminu for six years for merely sharing a song on WhatsApp, he could face the death penalty again, after it being overturned on procedural grounds in January 2021. The Supreme Court recently quietly removed the hearing of Yahaya’s case – delaying justice further. The Supreme Court needs to make a decision for human dignity on these laws soon. The silence, the legal limbo, is costing lives.
