Written question asked by Neale Hanvey (Alba Party) on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 June 2023 (named day). It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 June 2023 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Nigeria: Blasphemy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the law on blasphemy in Nigeria.

Answer: Defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all is a human rights priority for the UK and a constitutional commitment of the Nigerian Government. The UK strongly opposes capital punishment in all circumstances and regularly raises blasphemy and death penalty cases with our partners. The British High Commission raises human rights issues, including FoRB, regularly with Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Officials raised Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, and other blasphemy cases, with the Executive Secretary of the NHRC in April 2023. The UK's Special Envoy for FoRB wrote to the governor of Kano State to raise concern about Sharif-Aminu's sentencing under the state's penal code in December 2022. She will follow up on this with the new governor.

Secondary information