Nigerian Christian woman out on bail in blasphemy case

Rhoda Jatau, a mother of five and a health worker, was arrested in May 2022 in the town of Warji, northeastern Bauchi state, after she made an online post deemed blasphemous by Muslim residents, the police said.

Irate Muslim youth went on the rampage in Warji, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the state capital Bauchi, setting fire to homes and government buildings after failing to  find Jatau, who had been taken into custody.

Her online post mentioned the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student in the northwestern city of Sokoto, days earlier by her Muslim colleagues over allegations of a blasphemous online post again the Prophet.

Samuel's killing caused uproar among Christians in and outside Nigeria.

"Rhoda Jatau has been released on bail by the Bauchi High Court trying her for alleged blasphemy," Kola Alapini, a human rights lawyer advocating for her release, told AFP.

"This is a welcome development and a step towards her total freedom," said Alapini, who heads the Foundation for Religious Freedom, a non-profit organisation in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

Jatau was released at a low-key court session on Friday to avoid crowds and possible riots, given the public interest her trial generated.

Her case was raised at the United Nations Human Rights Council in July and at the European Parliament in October.

Local media quoted Ya'u Jatau, her husband, confirming his wife's release and return to the family.

Blasphemy attracts the death penalty under Sharia law which operates in 12 predominantly Muslim states alongside common law in Nigeria.

In many cases the accused are killed by mobs without going through the legal process.

Religious tensions from mutual distrust and suspicion usually run high between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria whose 210 million population is evenly distributed between the two faiths.