The Nigerian federal government enforces blasphemy laws that include a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment for acts “persons consider as a public insult on their religion.” Twelve Nigerian state governments also enforce their own more stringent blasphemy laws to prosecute and imprison individuals perceived to have insulted religion, including Christians, Muslims, and humanists. There are now four Nigerians incarcerated and convicted of blasphemy, including two religious leaders. In 2021, police arrested humanist Mubarak Bala for “insulting the Prophet,” and in 2022, a court sentenced him to decades in prison. Following an international outcry, an appeals court reduced his sentence to five years and released him in 2024. Mr. Bala, formerly the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, is living abroad while his sentence in under appeal.  In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. 

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Commissioner Mohamed Elsanousi speaks with humanist Mubarak Bala to discuss his experience of prosecution and imprisonment under Nigeria’s blasphemy laws and how these laws impact religious freedom and belief in the country. 

Read USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report Chapter on Nigeria and USCIRF’s most recent Nigeria Country Update.

Four Years after the Taliban’s Takeover, “Morality Law” Imposes Harsh Religious Freedom Restrictions
 

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report on Afghanistan: 
 

Issue Update: Afghanistan - Assessing the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice – In August 2024, the Taliban introduced the law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, known colloquially as the “morality law.” This law expands on and imposes harsher punishments on all Afghans who fail to observe the Taliban’s struct religious interpretation of Islam. A year after the law’s enactment, this publication considers the religious freedom implications and the enforcement of its strict provisions in 2025, focusing on the repercussions for religious minority communities and Afghan women.
 

In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF highlighted the Taliban’s egregious religious freedom violations, including the introduction of the morality law in 2024. USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Afghanistan as a Country of Particular Concern, for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations. 
 

###
 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].