Nigeria: University authorities ‘indefinitely prohibit’ Christian student groups from worshipping on campus

As reported by Truth Nigeria on 3 April 2024, Christian students on two university campuses in Northern Nigeria say that the university authorities have prevented Christians from meeting in fellowship and worshipping together. 

The Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance for Defending Freedom, are understood to be bringing lawsuits against two Katsina State universities, Umar Musa Yar Adua University, and Federal University Dutsima.  ADF International has published details of academic staff locking up all Christian worship and fellowship centers at Yar Adua University. Students at the institutions have described heavy dress restrictions on female students, forcing Christian and religious minority women to wear the hijab and other Islamic forms of dress. The singling out of Christian students for discriminatory punishment for failure to comply has also been described by students. In Federal University Dutsima, students have described the demolition of the Christian chapel and the refusal of the university authorities to allow Christians to freely worship. Members of the universities speaking to the media describe an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility towards students who are not Muslims.

World Watch Research analyst Naomi Williams comments: “Nigeria’s universities – once amongst the best on the African continent – have collapsed into a ramshackle and dangerous state in recent decades. Repeated strike action by academic staff, sharp fee increases, and high rates of sexual harassment of female students have severely damaged the reputation of Nigeria’s education sector.   The incident that particularly stands out was the horrific murder of the student Deborah Yakubu by male classmates accusing her of blasphemy at Shehu Shagari College of Education in May 2022. Her killers circulated footage of her murder and despite many perpetrators being identifiable, no-one was prosecuted for murder. Two suspects were arraigned on minor charges of public disturbance but were acquitted by the court, when Sokoto state prosecutors failed to appear and failed to bring the case (The Insight, 18 May 2023). Amnesty International commenting on ‘X’ on 2 April 2024, said that such failure ‘to tackle violence in the name of religion has effectively sent the message that anyone could commit murder and get away with it.’ (The Guardian NG, 3 April 2024).”