Is blasphemy illegal in Nigeria?
Criminal offense
Blasphemy is a criminal offense under the Criminal Code and Sharia law in some states.
Nigeria is one of 30 countries classified “Criminal offense” for blasphemy — 56% of the 54 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Blasphemy law
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Algeria
- Criminal offense Blasphemy is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and a fine.
- Sudan
- Criminal offense Blasphemy remains a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, fines, and lashes.
- Mauritania
- Death penalty possible Apostasy, defined as an act of indecency toward Islam, carries the death penalty.
- Malta
- No blasphemy law Malta repealed its laws against vilification of religion in 2016, removing blasphemy offenses.
- Tanzania
- Varies by region Mainland Tanzania has no specific blasphemy law, while Zanzibar criminalizes sacrilege and religious insult.
- Spain
- Fines / civil penalties Spain's blasphemy law was removed, leaving only civil penalties for vilifying religious feelings.
Other laws in Nigeria
- Apostasy 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.