Nigeria, April 11 -- The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled that the blasphemy laws in Nigeria violate freedom of expression protections guaranteed under regional and international human rights instruments.

A press release from the court on Friday said the court, in a landmark judgement delivered on 9 April (Wednesday), ruled that the existence of such laws is against Nigeria's international human rights commitments.

Ruling on a case filed by a civil society organisation, the Expression Now Human Rights Initiative, specifically challenging Kano State's version of the law, the court declared that section 210 of the state's Penal Code and section 382(b) of its Sharia Penal Code Law (2000) criminalising blasphemy are incompatible with Niger...