{"id":159184,"date":"2025-04-13T10:17:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T09:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws"},"modified":"2025-04-15T13:12:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T12:12:23","slug":"ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws","title":{"rendered":"ECOWAS court: Kano govt defends blasphemy laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Against a verdict by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, asserting the constitutional right to uphold religious sanctity within its jurisdiction, the Kano State Government has defended its blasphemy laws.<\/p>\n

The ECOWAS court\u2019s judgment sparked a fierce debate following the declaration that certain aspects of the blasphemy laws inconsistent with international human rights standards.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the state Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, on Sunday, explained that Kano remained unyielding, citing its legal authority to protect the values and beliefs of its predominantly Muslim population.<\/p>\n

He said that they would not be deterred by external pressures, stressing that their responsibility is to uphold the values of their society, grounded in religious and moral beliefs, while they respect international opinions.<\/p>\n

According to him, \u201cThe Kano government\u2019s defencee is rooted in Nigeria\u2019s federal system, where states retain the right to enact laws reflecting local social, moral, and religious contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the people of Kano have entrusted them with the responsibility to maintain peace and protect their religious values, adding that the laws are central to that mission, and they will remain firmly in place.<\/p>\n

Waiya reaffirmed the state government\u2019s commitment to the protection of religious sanctity and public order, while acknowledging the EXOWAS Court\u2019s judgement.<\/p>\n

He stated that they fully respect the court\u2019s authority, but the laws that govern their state must reflect the unique moral and religious fabric of their people.<\/p>\n

The state argued that its blasphemy laws are not an aberration but a recognition of Nigeria\u2019s legal pluralism, where state legislatures are empowered to legislate on matters within the Concurrent Legislative List, including criminal law.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Against a verdict by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, asserting the constitutional right to uphold religious sanctity within its jurisdiction, the Kano State Government has defended its blasphemy laws. The ECOWAS court\u2019s judgment sparked a fierce debate following the declaration that certain aspects of the blasphemy laws inconsistent with international human rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":159183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[847,372,254],"class_list":["post-159184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-ecowas","tag-kano","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nECOWAS court: Kano govt defends blasphemy laws - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Against a verdict by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, asserting the constitutional right to uphold religious sanctity within ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ECOWAS court: Kano govt defends blasphemy laws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Against a verdict by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, asserting the constitutional right to uphold religious sanctity within ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-13T09:17:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-15T12:12:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/sm_1744527215.761537.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"461\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ECOWAS court: Kano govt defends blasphemy laws\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-13T09:17:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-15T12:12:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\"},\"wordCount\":296,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/sm_1744527215.761537.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ECOWAS\",\"Kano\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/ecowas-court-kano-govt-defends-blasphemy-laws\",\"name\":\"ECOWAS court: Kano govt defends blasphemy laws - 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