A judge in Bauchi State has exonerated Rhoda Jatau, a 46-year-old Christian health worker of blasphemy allegations after a two-and-a-half-year legal battle with the help of an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom.
Her imprisonment began in May 2022 when she allegedly shared a video related to the lynching of a Christian student, Deborah Emmanuel, with a closed WhatsApp group at her workplace at the state primary healthcare board.
She was later released on December 8, 2023, with pending charges.
However, social media has been abuzz with many people expressing a deep sense of injustice regarding her case. They argued that her arrest was a clear case of a miscarriage of justice, especially given that Deborah’s killers remain free and unpunished.
An X user, @Misspearls said: “Rhoda Jatau’s acquittal is welcome, but her arrest was a clear miscarriage of justice. It’s unacceptable that Deborah’s killers remain free, boasting about their crime, while those seeking justice are targeted. @PoliceNG must act now to arrest and prosecute Deborah’s killers. Justice delayed is justice denied and this double standard cannot continue.”
Another X user, @SpiricocoNg said that “if she suffered this much and charged for religious disturbance, what then happens to the guys that lynched Deborah, This is unbelievable.”
@Nosa adolor said: “Surely, any religion that relies on blasphemy and apostasy laws to survive does not believe in the authenticity and competitiveness of its doctrines. Blasphemy and apostasy laws help to breed a pride of adherents willing to fight and kill for their god.”
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@Denah N also pointed out discrepancies in the application of sharia law, claiming that it is misused to foster religious intolerance, particularly against Christians.
She said that “Muslims say the shari’a law is only applicable to Muslims but then abuse people who eat for themselves during Ramadan, kill Christians because of allegations of blasphemy and other nonsense. Always bent on instigating religious intolerance.”
@Stephbysteph condemned the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for now stepping in, saying “was she supposed to be jailed at the first instance? Those terrorists that carried out that barbaric act, as we speak where are they? Christian Association of Nigeria is a useless organization as we speak, because if they aren’t useless, by now they would have sued that stupid sharia court that jailed her unjustly.”
Following her arrest, Jatau faced extreme backlash, with her neighborhood being burned down and being denied access to both family and legal representation.
