The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Nazila Ghanea, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, growing religious polarization, and persistent impunity, warning that these challenges are undermining fundamental human rights across the country.
Speaking at a press conference at the headquarters of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja on Friday, Ghanea presented preliminary findings from the visit of her team to Jos, Plateau and Kano statest during which she met with more than 200 stakeholders, including government officials, civil society groups, religious leaders, lawyers, and victims of violence.
She said the visit was aimed at examining the state of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion in Nigeria and how it intersects with other human rights.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s rich diversity and constitutional protections for freedom of religion and belief, Ghanea noted that discussions throughout her visit were overwhelmingly dominated by concerns about insecurity, violence, and conflict.
According to her, interlocutors repeatedly cited terrorist attacks, banditry, kidnappings, armed conflict, cattle rustling, land disputes, destruction of places of worship and schools, and mass displacement as major threats affecting communities across the country.
“Scores of innocent people experience killings, mass violence and the total decimation of their livelihoods time and again, and they report witnessing little or no justice,” she said.
The UN expert noted that many affected communities complained of inadequate protection and accountability, warning that impunity has helped sustain and spread violence beyond regions traditionally associated with insecurity.
Ghanea said victims often perceive the authorities as failing to prevent attacks or deliver justice, leading some to describe their experiences as persecution or even genocide, stressing however, that while legal determinations require judicial processes, the voices and experiences of victims should not be dismissed.
The rapporteur also highlighted concerns over the increasing tendency to view Nigeria through religious divisions, describing narratives of a “Muslim North” and “Christian South” as overly simplistic and restrictive.
According to her, such narratives obscure Nigeria’s complex realities and limit individuals’ freedom to define and express their own beliefs.
She expressed concern that many official processes at federal and state levels still require applicants to disclose their religion, despite constitutional protections.
“Job applications, pension applications, school admissions, recruitment into the police and military and other processes reportedly continue to request religious affiliation, creating pressure on citizens to identify with a particular faith,” she said.
Ghanea welcomed reports that religion has been removed from applications for the Nigerian passport and National Identification Number, describing the move as a positive development.
Addressing debates over the causes of violence in Nigeria, the UN expert said stakeholders offered sharply contrasting views, with some attributing attacks primarily to religion while others insisted religion played no role.
She observed that both perspectives often reflect different understandings of the crisis, which may involve a combination of religious, economic, political, environmental and resource-related factors.
The rapporteur further expressed concern over the growing reliance on vigilante groups and community self-help security arrangements, warning that the proliferation of armed groups could increase rather than reduce insecurity.
While acknowledging government efforts to strengthen security, she said communities frequently reported that security forces failed to respond during attacks, contributing to a loss of public confidence.
Ghanea also pointed to tensions arising from Nigeria’s plural legal systems, particularly in relation to blasphemy laws, hate speech provisions and criminal punishments in some northern states.
She referenced the April 2025 ruling by the ECOWAS Court of Justice on blasphemy laws in Kano, noting that some state authorities questioned the binding nature of the court’s decision.
Despite the challenges identified, the UN official praised the vibrancy of Nigeria’s civic space and the resilience of victims, activists and young people working to promote peace and human rights.
“There is no doubt that Nigeria has the expertise, the experts and inspirational youth to secure freedom of thought, conscience and religion for all on an equal basis,” she said and explained that her remarks represented preliminary findings from the visit and that a comprehensive report would be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2027.
She thanked the Nigerian government for facilitating the visit, as well as the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs and the NHRC for their support.
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