Nigeria Battered by Rash of Blasphemy Murders

A solemn ceremony for blasphemy lynching victim Deborah Emmanuel near her family home in northeast Niger state on May 14, 2022. Courtesy of the Emmanuel family

A growing wave of blasphemy attacks by Islamic extremists in Nigeria has stirred anger and threatened to divide Africa’s most populous nation.

Two gruesome mob lynchings over alleged blasphemy on May 12 and June 4 have roiled the country and stirred calls for global action.