Is apostasy illegal in Nigeria?
Criminal offense
Nigeria's northern Muslim-majority states use Sharia law to persecute Muslim apostates, particularly converts to Christianity.
Nigeria is one of 15 countries classified “Criminal offense” for apostasy — 50% of the 30 with data. (Also searched as leaving a religion.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Apostasy in Islam by country
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Libya
- Death penalty possible Libya's General National Council voted to make Sharia law the basis for legislation, which can include death penalty for atheism.
- Algeria
- Criminal offense Apostasy in Algeria is illegal, with family law stating that if either spouse is an "apostate" from Islam, the marriage will be declared null and void.
- Sudan
- Death penalty possible Sudan had a death penalty for apostasy until 2020, with notable cases including Mahmoud Mohammed Taha and Meriam Ibrahim, though the law was officially repealed.
- Mauritania
- Death penalty possible Article 306 of Mauritania's criminal code provides death sentence for apostasy with opportunity to repent.
- Tunisia
- Legal Tunisia's 2014 Constitution protects citizens from prosecution for renouncing Islam, making apostasy legal and prohibiting accusations of apostasy and incitement to violence.
- Morocco
- Criminal offense Morocco's Supreme Council of Religious Scholars issued a fatwa calling for death penalty for apostasy, though it was later retracted.
Other laws in Nigeria
- Blasphemy Laws
- Criminal offense
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Flag Desecration
- Criminal offense
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.