On 10 December a judge in northern Nigeria’s Bauchi state announced that Christian healthcare worker Rhoda Jatau had been acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence.
Rhoda (47) had been charged with inciting public disturbance, exciting contempt of a religious creed (the civil equivalent of blasphemy) and cyberstalking after she allegedly shared a video condemning the lynching of Christian student Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu in May 2022. A mob of Deborah’s classmates murdered her and set her body on fire for sharing her faith.
Rhoda faced up to five years in prison if convicted and she spent 19 months in prison before she was released on bail in December 2023. Since then she has been living in an undisclosed location for her protection.
Christian Solidarity International’s local partner Solomon Mwantiri said the court accepted the defence argument that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. “The court discharged and acquitted Rhoda Jatau of the accusations brought against her by the Bauchi State government,” he wrote.
ADF International said in a press statement, “Jatau’s lawyers raised significant legal failures in the prosecution’s case and argued that they had not established the basic elements of their case against Jatau. The grant of bail and final acquittal followed international outcry over Jatau’s imprisonment.”
Following her acquittal, Rhoda told ADF International, “I am so grateful”, and thanked all those who had prayed and advocated for her.
Arrest and imprisonment
Rhoda was working as head of the Primary Healthcare Centre in Warji when Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu was killed in Sokoto state in May 2022. A week after Deborah’s death, Rhoda was accused of forwarding a video clip to a closed WhatsApp group for staff at her workplace that condemned Deborah’s killing. The video clip was considered blasphemous and a mob of over two hundred angry Muslims armed with stones, sticks and knives gathered to attack Rhoda. She was arrested and jailed, and her husband Ya’u Adamu and their five children were forced into hiding.
The crowd attacked the Evangelical Church Winning All building where Rhoda worshipped, injuring the pastor and 14 other Christians, and destroyed the church building as well as homes and shops belonging to some local Christians.
Rhoda found prison very difficult, especially as she was not allowed visits from her family members, and only saw them at court appearances. She met with other Christians in prison every day to encourage each other – Rhoda told ADF International, “We set up a fellowship, and we did meet every day at 4 pm. That helped us. We studied the Word of God. We discussed. We did many things. We fasted together. We prayed together with others that were there. That was one of the good things that at least gave us courage.”
Describing the moment she heard she was to be released on bail in December 2023, Rhoda said, “I just burst out crying because of the overjoy.” After her release she went into hiding with her family in a neighbouring state to await the outcome of her trial.
Commenting on Rhoda’s acquittal, Sean Nelson of ADF International said, “We are thankful to God for Rhoda’s full acquittal and an end to the ordeal she has endured for far too long. No person should be punished for peaceful expression, and we are grateful that Rhoda Jatau has been fully acquitted. But Rhoda should never have been arrested in the first place. We will continue to seek justice for Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria who are unjustly imprisoned and plagued by the draconian blasphemy laws.”
(ADF International, Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, Christian Solidarity International, Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
Photo: ADF International