… as LP senatorial candidate demands Senate, NCJ intervention
By Chinedum Treasure
The Labour Party senatorial candidate for Anambra Central in the 2027 general election, Ven. Tochukwu Sagacious Ikezue (Amb. P), has condemned the 14-year imprisonment of a Christian woman, Mrs. Liyatu Samuel Dawa, by a Borno State High Court, describing the judgment as a violation of religious freedom.
Ikezue called on the Senate and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to urgently intervene in the matter, warning that the conviction raised serious concerns about the protection of fundamental rights and freedom of religion in Nigeria.
He expressed particular concern that Dawa was sentenced after sharing her Christian faith with an adult woman who, according to reports he cited, told the court that she had voluntarily converted to Christianity without coercion.
The LP candidate questioned the application of Section 210 of the Borno Penal Code in the case, arguing that the provision, as applied in the judgment, had no connection with sharing religious beliefs with a consenting adult.
He maintained that the judgment was inconsistent with Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change one’s religion and to propagate it through teaching, practice and observance.
Ikezue urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to invoke the oversight powers of the National Assembly and direct the appropriate Senate committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the judgment.
He also called on the NJC to review the conduct of the presiding judge, Justice A. B. Kumdila, while appealing for Dawa’s release on bail pending the determination of the case.
The senatorial candidate further appealed to the Federal Government to provide adequate protection for Dawa’s family.
He alleged that her husband, who had previously been detained, was living in hiding after receiving death threats from extremists in Gwoza.
Ikezue insisted that every Nigerian should enjoy the constitutional right to practise and propagate their faith without discrimination, stressing that religious freedom must be protected regardless of whether the individual is a Christian or a Muslim.
He warned that allowing violations of religious freedom to go unchallenged could undermine the constitutional rights of citizens and deepen religious tensions in the country.
“An attack on one Christian mother in Gwoza is an attack on all Christians in Nigeria,” he declared.
Tags: Religious Freedom, Labour Party, Anambra Politics
