Liyatu Samuel Dawa, from Gwoza in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, has been sentenced to fourteen years in prison for sharing her faith with a Muslim woman who subsequently converted to Christianity. The woman testified that she chose Christianity of her own free will and was not forced to convert.

Liyatu, who is in her late 30s, told the court that she had only advised the woman and pleaded for leniency before sentencing. A certified copy of the judgment obtained by Truth Nigeria records that Liyatu told the court, “As a mother I am pleading to this court, I did not intend to cheat the victim. I plead to the court for leniency, I have sympathy for her, I only advised her. That is all.”

Justice A. B. Kumalia of the Borno state High Court imposed the maximum penalty, sentencing Liyatu to fourteen years’ imprisonment under Section 210 of the state’s penal code. 

Human rights advocates say the case represents a serious breach of Nigeria’s constitutional protections for religious freedom and critics say the court convicted Liyatu under improper religious interpretations. Human rights lawyer Samuel John described her conviction as “unconstitutional and deeply troubling” and told Truth Nigeria, “No provision of Nigerian law justifies a 14‑year sentence for a consensual religious conversation between two adults.”

Liyatu’s lawyers are preparing an appeal, citing misapplication of Section 210 and breach of Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change one’s religion and to propagate religious beliefs.

Husband in hiding

Liyatu’s husband, Evangelist Amos Suleman, has been forced into hiding after repeated threats from extremists. He spent months in detention before being released on bail and says extremists began threatening him after his release. “I’m on the run; my life is under threat,” he said. “I was imprisoned for months like a criminal. After I was released on bail, extremists began hunting for me. I’m not safe anymore. My wife is a good person. The young woman they claim she coerced… testified clearly that no one forced her to accept Christ. Yet my wife is in prison suffering.”

The threats make it impossible for Amos to visit Liyatu in prison. “I’m appealing to the world to save my life and my wife,” he told Truth Nigeria.

Tried under Sharia law

Borno is a Muslim-majority state and is one of twelve states across northern Nigeria where Sharia law is in place. However, a court must first ascertain a defendant’s faith because if they are not Muslim they have the right to withhold consent to be tried in a Sharia court. Liyatu did not give consent and her lawyers argue that the court has no jurisdiction over the case and that the trial was illegal.

Northeast Nigeria has suffered years of attacks by militant Islamist organisations Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, which target Christians, government institutions and moderate Muslims who do not share their jihadist agenda. Gwoza, near the border with Cameroon, has been heavily affected by violence and displacement.

(Barnabas Aid, International Christian Concern, Truth Nigeria)

Photo credit: Amos Suleman