Nigeria had previously been designated as a Country of Particular Concern in 2020 and a Special Watch List Country in 2019. However, in 2021, the Secretary of State determined that Nigeria did not meet the criteria for the above in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. However, in the 2022 report, senior Christian and Muslim religious leaders made statements criticizing what they said was government inaction in the face of continued widespread violence.
The constitution bars federal and state governments from adopting a state religion, prohibits religious discrimination, and provides for individuals’ freedom to choose, practice, propagate, or change their religion.
In 2022, the country was 50% Muslim and 48.1% Christian, leaving approximately 2% belonging to other or no religious groups. Of these percentages, recorded by Pew Research Center (2015), many individuals syncretize traditional practices with Islam or Christianity.
Members of both Christian and Muslim groups continued to report some state and local government laws discriminated against them, including limiting their rights to freedom of expression and assembly and to obtain government employment.
Local and international NGOs and religious organizations criticised the government’s perceived inability to prevent or mitigate violence between Christian and Muslim communities.
The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The constitution provides for states to establish courts based on sharia or customary (traditional) law, in addition to common law courts. It stipulates that neither the federal nor state governments shall establish a state religion and prohibits discrimination on religious grounds.
The nature of a case and the parties consent usually determine what type of court has jurisdiction.
The constitution highlights religious tolerance as a distinct component of the national ethic.
In 2022, the level of violence and insecurity increased. Because issues of religion, ethnicity, land and resource competition, and criminality are often closely linked, it was difficult to categorize many incidents as targeting individuals because of religion.
In 2015, 1 incidence of violence erupted due to the clash between the police and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which resulted in the death of 349 people. In the following year, 2016, 22 incidences of violence were observed which resulted in the death of 594 people, with the highest being 440 deaths caused by attacks by the Fulani Herdsmen. In 2017, 12 incidences of violence were observed, 166 people died from these attacks. In 2018, 17 incidences of violence were observed, resulting in the death of 341 people, with the highest number of deaths observed in June of 2018, from attacks by the Fulani herdsmen who are responsible for the deaths of 200 people. In 2019, there were 2 incidents of violence observed, 159 people succumbed to death due to these attacks, majority of these deaths were caused by a clash between the Fulani herdsmen and Adara, which caused the death of 142 people, 131 being from the Fulani and 11 being from the Adara tribe.
According to the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), 3,953 civilian deaths were reported from violence across the country in 2022, compared to 3,699 in 2021, including an increase in violence against Christians, which comprised 5%. The NGO Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) stated that in 2022 32,000 Muslims had been killed over the previous three years due to terrorist attacks in the North.
For the year 2022, on June 5 attackers killed an estimated 50 persons including children at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State during service. On September 23, armed men killed at least 15 people at a Mosque in Zamfara State. In May a mob killed a Christian student in Sokoto. There were also numerous kidnappings and abductions of clergy, members of religious groups, and worshippers attending prayers at a mosque.