US Honours Nigerian Lawyer Kola Alapinni, 7 Others For Championing Religious Freedom

Kola Alapinni, a Nigerian human rights lawyer, has been awarded the prestigious U.S. Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Award for his unwavering defence of religious freedom in the face of immense risks.

Alapinni’s courageous work includes representing two prominent blasphemy cases in Kano, Northern Nigeria. He provided pro bono legal defense for Omar Farouq Bashir, sentenced to 10 years for blasphemy, and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, sentenced to death for the same charge. Both sentences were overturned by the Court of Appeals, but Sharif-Aminu’s case remains in limbo.

“The first case involved Omar Farouq Bashir, a minor who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Kano Shari’a court in 2020 and subsequently released on appeal following Alapinni’s intervention. The second case concerns Muslim singer Yahaya Shariff Aminu who was sentenced to death by the same Kano court and whose appeal is pending with the Nigerian Supreme Court,” according to a statement published on the U.S. Department of State website on Thursday.

“In 1999 amid public pressures following the return of civilian rule in Nigeria, 12 northern states introduced a version of Shari’a law that prescribes the death penalty or lengthy prison sentences for blasphemy.

“When Omar Farouq Bashir and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu were arrested and charged with blasphemy in 2020, lawyers were reluctant to defend them in court because of the threat that violent mobs would attack or kill them and/or burn their homes. Kano has a history of mobs violently reacting to issues that relate to blasphemy.”

“Alapinni and his team went to Kano and provided pro bono legal representation to Farouq and Sharif, despite considerable risk to themselves. The death sentence was overturned but Yahaya’s case was remitted to the Sharia Court for a retrial. Following a further appeal, the legal team is now at the Supreme Court of Nigeria seeking to free Yahaya and to challenge the Sharia Penal Code laws in Northern Nigeria,” the report said.

These cases highlight the dangers of blasphemy laws in Nigeria, where 12 northern states have implemented Sharia law with harsh penalties for blasphemy. Alapinni’s courage in taking these cases, despite threats of violence, demonstrates his unwavering commitment to religious freedom and justice.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Molly Phee, commended Alapinni for his “valiant efforts” and stressed the importance of protecting religious freedom around the world.

“Thank you, Kolawole, for your valiant efforts in these cases and for advancing freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria. Freedom of religion or belief is a human right, and we remain committed to its preservation and advancement,” she wrote on her official X account.

Other recipients of the Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Award include Farid Ahmed, MNZM from New Zealand; Mirza Dinnayi from Iraq, Peter Jacob from Pakistan, Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro from Nicaragua, Lhadon Tethong from (People’s Republic of China – Tibet), Tali Nates from South Africa, and Group of Nine Orthodox Clergy from Lithuania.

The Orthodox clerics are Fathers Georgy Ananiev, Vitalis Dauparas, Aliaksandr Kukhta, Vitalijus Mockus, Georgy Roi, Vladimiras Seliavko, Gintaras Sungaila and Deacons Viktoras Miniotas and John Ovchinnikov.