DEBORAH SAMUEL'S MURDER AND BLASPHEMY UNDER NIGERIAN LAW

The recent killing of Deborah Samuel has attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians across the country and the begging question is what the Nigerian law position on blasphemy is.

Well, Blasphemy has never been legal in Nigeria. The Criminal Code Act (as CC after now) as applied in the Southern Part of Nigeria and the Criminal Code Act (as CC after now) as applied in the Northern Part of Nigeria are the two most important penal laws in Nigeria.

Section 204 of the Criminal Code while attempting to criminalize blasphemy provides that;

“Any person who does an act which any class of persons consider as a public insult on their religion, with the intention that they should consider the act such an insult, and any person who does an unlawful act with the knowledge that any class of persons will consider it such an insult, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to imprisonment for two years”.

Section 417 of the ?Penal Code which is applicable in the northern part of Nigeria provides that:

“Whoever, seeks to excite hatred or contempt against any class of persons in such a way as to endanger the public peace, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.”

As a result, in the Southern part of the country, the penalty is two years without the option of a fine, whereas in the Northern part, the penalty is three years with the choice of an undefined fine or both the sentence and the fine. However, it should be noted that blasphemy is normally prosecuted by local (state) laws, as part of our tripartite legal system, which includes customary laws, state criminal laws, and Shari'a penal laws where appropriate. As a result, some of those provisions must be checked for further examination.

Now, going by the circumstances surrounding the death of the late Deborah, another question is jungle justice, the appropriate measure to take when someone has been accused of Blasphemy?

The answer is No! Apart from jungle justice being prohibited in Nigeria, the Supreme Court in SHALLA v. STATE (2007) LPELR-3034(SC) has given its verdict on issues like this, it held that:

“Although it is true that there is the provision in Risala which prescribes the punishment of death on any Muslim who insults the Holy Prophet such punishment can only be imposed by the appropriate authority (i.e. the court) rather than by any member of the society whether a Muslim or otherwise.”

The Supreme Court then went further to state that:

“Islamic religion is not a primitive religion that allows its adherents to take the law into their own hands and to commit jungle justice. Instead, there is a judicial system in Islam which hears and determines cases including the trial of criminal offences and any body accused of committing an offence against the religion or against a fellow Muslim brother should be taken to the court (either a Sharia or a secular/common law court) for adjudication. It is only when a person is convicted and sentenced by a court of law that he will be liable to a punishment which will be carried out by an appropriate authority (i.e. the prison)”

Section 8 (1 and 3) of Administration of Criminals and Justice Act (2015) gives mob justice no room, and thus, prohibits jungle justice. And by implication, any person caught or arrested participating or engaging in mob justice may face relevant criminal charges.

The abovementioned authorities has shown that jungle justice apart from being the wrong measure to adopt where there is an accusation of blasphemy, it is unlawful and illegal.

Therefore, the killing of Deborah Samuel is condemnable and a disregard for the rule of law and the laws of the land.

It is imperative to note that the government and all relevant bodies need to do more in sensitizing the populace on the need to desist from mob justice and embrace the legal process.