On December 10, a judge in Bauchi state declared Jatau not guilty of blasphemy charges that had been filed against her following her arrest in May 2022. If she had been found guilty, she could have faced five years in prison.
Jatau was arrested shortly after she shared a video on WhatsApp that spoke out against the horrific killing of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Christian college student who was brutally murdered by her classmates for sharing her faith. Although Jatau was not the creator of the video, officials claimed she had committed blasphemy by simply sharing it. After her arrest, her home and others in her village were burned down by an angry mob.
Before her release on bail in December 2023, Jatau spent 19 months in prison. Her trial dragged on until she was finally acquitted on December 10, 2024, and her case was dismissed. She is currently staying in a safe, undisclosed location.
While imprisoned, Jatau and other Christian inmates formed a supportive community, meeting daily for prayer and encouragement. “We set up a fellowship, and we met every day at 4 p.m.,” she shared with ADF International, the organization that helped her during her trial. They studied religious texts, discussed their faith, and even fasted together, which provided them with strength and hope.
When Jatau learned that she would finally be released, she couldn’t hold back her tears of joy. “I just gave God the glory that day,” she expressed. “I was so happy.”
