“We are Oppressed in Northern Nigeria,” Woman Cries Out

In a viral video shared on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, a non-muslim woman who lives in Northern Nigeria speaks against the extreme blasphemy culture in the state. She explained that if northern neighbours hate a person, they can orchestrate the death of their co-neighbours (non-northerners) by falsely accusing them of insulting the prophet.

“In Northern Nigeria, if your neighbour hates you, all they have to say is that you blasphemed their prophet. The legit reason to take your life is to say you blasphemed their prophet,” she said.

She added that publicity of Deborah Samuel’s lynching in 2022 in Sokoto was due to Southern and non-Northern communities. But in the North, the non-muslims faced daily oppression.

She narrated that religious doctrines are imposed on them, and if they try to voice out their discomfort, they can be accused of blasphemy and burned alive. She used the Ramadan period to demonstrate the oppression they faced.

“Because Muslims are fasting, you, as a non-muslim, cannot eat outside, you will be arrested by the Hisbah police. Certain schools are not opening because Muslims are fasting. Also in northern Nigeria, the only thing that is remaining for us to be fully Islamised is saying the shahada. All the religious policies and rules have already been imposed on us,” she said.

She expressed that the Hisbah police are oppressors who terrorise non-muslims, comparing the state to Afghanistan, where women are continually oppressed. She called for help, referencing the arrest of the people who flagged the Ukraine/Russian flag; meanwhile, the northern people did the same for Iran, but they were not arrested. 

“We are very oppressed. The worst part is that if you are not silent, you will be silenced completely,” she stated.