Katiya said the punishment was excessive and raised concerns about the protection of religious freedoms in the country.
A Christian woman in northeastern Nigeria has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly sharing her faith with an adult Muslim woman who testified in court that she voluntarily converted to Christianity.
The conviction of Liyatu Samuel Dawa in Borno State has sparked criticism from human rights and religious freedom advocates, who question the legal basis of the sentence and warn that it could undermine constitutional protections for freedom of religion.
According to reports, the woman who converted to Christianity told the court that she had made the decision willingly and had not been forced or coerced by Dawa.
However, the court proceeded to convict and sentence Dawa, in a ruling that critics say relied on improper religious interpretations rather than applicable provisions of Nigerian law.
Gavvs Katiya, chairman of the Gwoza Refugees Resettlement Initiative, told TruthNigeria that the sentence amounted to using the woman’s Christian faith against her.
Katiya said the punishment was excessive and raised concerns about the protection of religious freedoms in the country.
The case has also left Dawa’s family facing security threats, with her husband, Evangelist Amos Suleman, saying he has been forced into hiding following repeated threats from local extremists.
Suleman said he spent several months in detention before securing bail but has since struggled to live safely because of threats against his life.
“I’m on the run; my life is under threat,” he told TruthNigeria.
“I was imprisoned for months like a criminal. After I was released on bail, extremists began hunting for me. I’m not safe anymore.”
He maintained that his wife had done nothing wrong, insisting that the woman at the centre of the case was an adult who freely chose to embrace Christianity.
“My wife is a good person. The young woman they claim she coerced is an adult. She testified clearly that no one forced her to accept Christ. Yet my wife is in prison suffering,” he said.
Suleman said the threats had also prevented him from visiting his wife in prison because doing so could expose him to further danger.
Human rights advocates have described the case as a serious test of Nigeria’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, particularly the right of individuals to choose and practise their faith without coercion or punishment.
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