Examining Religious Freedom In Nigeria: A Study of Faith And Law

Religious Freedom 

Joshua Ufedo Baba

University of Jos (CLASFON, Unijos Chapter)

Abstract.

This essay is aimed at extolling religious freedom through the judiciary, media, and civil society organizations. It focuses on their roles in advancing religious tolerance among adherents of disparate sects by analyzing religious freedom with a retrospective lens, drawing emphasis from history, legal decisions, and social reformations that brought about the right to engage in one's religious practices albeit, fragile due to the numerous subjugation still in place. This essay subsequently makes suggestions as to how this freedom can be realized and established, drawing home the role of the machinery outlined above.

Introduction.

A major feature of Nigeria's legal system is the pluralistic nature of our society evident in our laws. Nigeria is a diverse nation boasting a variety of tribes, religions, customs, and laws. Christianity, Islam, and folk religion are the predominant religions among Nigerians, with a growing unaffiliated population having no link with any religion. 

The heterogeneity of beliefs has resulted in Nigeria being a hotbed for religious violence, weighed in half by the population of adherents, Islam and Christianity form an aggregate of over 90% of the religious belief in Nigeria, and often, there are unholy wars wagged by fanatics and fanned by political miscreants to exploit this dissimilarity. 

To quell the agitation that should rightly arise from pandering to one religion, Nigeria adopts a secular status and expressly provides in its Constitution on the first mention of religion that, "The Government of the Federation or a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion." This section of the Constitution can be interpreted to mean that religious freedom can only be actualized if the government refuses to dabble into religious spheres. Lord Summer had rightly held in his judgment that: 'The attitude of the State towards all religion depends fundamentally on the safety of the State and not on the doctrine or metaphysics of those who profess them.' Thus, if Nigeria is to realize freedom of religion, it is to participate in the greater freedom of separating the State from Religion.

Religious Freedom.

Religious Freedom is the right of every human being, of every region or culture, to follow the dictates of his conscience in matters of fundamental truth, within the due limits recognized by national and international norms.The Nigerian Constitution provides for the freedom to practice one's religion. The Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights both recognize religion as a private matter that transcends privacy to the community. The communal nature of religion is expanded further by the provision of the right to propagate one's religion by "teaching, practice and observance" all including diverse rights including but not limited to the Right to Peaceful Assembly, Expression, and the Freedom from Discrimination. 

Furthermore, since fundamental rights are freedoms essential to the concept of ordered liberty, inherent in human nature and consequently inalienable. The Freedom of Religion is indispensable for the progress of any nation conscious of its development. Unfortunately, Nigeria has attained notoriety amongst nations when it comes to religious persecution; a data unveiled in 2024 revealed that Nigeria ranks sixth (6th) among nations where Christians are persecuted for their faith. In another sphere, the Islamic minority sect, Shi'a, has faced increasing subjugation and military repression where the right to propagate their belief is trampled upon. The narrative of religious persecution in Nigeria is gruesome; it spins tales of displacement, ostracism, and blood. Religious tolerance is the only remedy for the fetid image. In the struggle to ensure that everyone can enjoy the right to commune with the Maker and to keep away those who seek to disconnect this communion, certain roles are to be established.

Religious Freedom and the Judiciary.

Jesus tells a parable of a widowed woman who had approached a Judge who neither feared God nor regardedman. The widow had persistently encroached upon him, "Avenge me of my adversary," she had said, "bring me justice," she can be said to have stated. And in that city, a town where the Judge had no reverence for his fellow or God, the Judge understood the necessity for Justice and delivered it. The Holy Books are rife with the call to Justice, the Quran provides, 

"God has commanded you to render back to your trusts to those to whom they are due; and when you Judge between man and man, to Judge with fairness."

To be just is the highest form of piety, and renderers of justice must hold as foreknowledge that robbing a person of due fairness is the highest form of degeneration. The role of the judiciary is to tender justice, Justice Ayoolaspeaking on the role of the judiciary in maintaining religious freedom had pronounced irrevocably,

Ensuring liberty of conscience and freedom of religion is an important component. The courts are the institutions society has agreed to invest in with the responsibility of balancing conflicting interests in a way that ensures the fullness of liberty without destroying the existence and stability of society. 

An independent judiciary keen on protecting the rights of the citizens is urged to adopt an unbiased demeanordevoid of religious sentiment and prejudice. The judiciary is a futuristic entity; it bases its decisions on precedent, and to divert from precedent where the needs of the future warrants diversion. The Courts are the resort for instituting an action for the protection of one's right to profess his religion publicly. Courts are also avenues for the resolution of religious matters that cannot be resolved outside the threshold of litigation. This places a burden of trust upon the judiciary to safeguard the provisions for religious freedom in our legal instruments. 

A jurist deciding a matter of religious connotation is to ensure that his judgment is entered in fairness. Judges are urged to treat the litigants before them, regardless of tribe, sex, age, and religion, with respect and to refrain from making provocative statements that may further stoke religious warfare. The judge's role in a religious dispute is often a correctional one, and then an intermediary. To also ensure that religious matters are aptly decided, there is the Shari'ah Court and Customary Courts where Islamic and traditional customs are decided upon by judges conversant with the system of belief. 

Religious Freedom, the Media and Civil Society Organizations.

It is the role of the media to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in Chapter II and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people. The Media has made the world interconnected today. Political, social, and religious discourse are transmitted through social media hubs and possess more reach than the television and radio transmitters. The peculiarity of social media is evident in the right to give public opinion on whatever matter has arisen for public discourse. This imposes on the media an obligation to protect the freedom of individuals and not be a tool for religious propaganda. An example of the media's propensity to advance religious intolerance was the events leading to World War II (WW II). For Hitler to justify his vile and baseless assault on the Jews, he spun a story of the Jews plotting to take over the world, to further advance his propaganda, he released to the media a circular culled from the Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion where twelve rabbis congregated together to celebrate the collapse of the world order. Owing to this, Hitler claimed the decimation of the Jews championed by him, was a pre-emptive strategy against their ploy. This piece of propaganda was realized later to be false. This story hawked by the German media had been re-translated through centuries to refute or consolidate power; upon investigation, the Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion had its origin in France and was, in reality, an anti-Napoleon account.

The media is powerful tool to pass or distort information. In a country with contesting views as Nigeria, the media is the Holy Grail to spin narratives that are capable of making or miring our collective trust. The role of the media cannot be over-emphasized; its Independence and rationality are essential for the unity of Nigeria. The Media is to ensure that it remains impartial in matters where truth cannot be rationed, and that is always.

Civil society organizations are usually voluntary and corporate bodies that are less than the state but greater than the family; they serve society's need for growth by promoting equal access for all to the dividends of democracy. In promoting religious freedom, civil society organizations finance and publicize religious tolerance by organizing outreaches, seminars, and workshops themed toward actualizing religious freedom. These organizations can also fill in the gap between the government and the people by localizing data, filling in on government inefficiencies, and providing relief for persons displaced by religious persecution.

Conclusion. 

In the quest for religious freedom for all, there is a burden placed on every individual in society. This burden extends beyond the government, media, and civil society organizations; it is to respect every man's belief and to hold no prejudice against any man.