Nigerian Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom
VILLAGERS loot a farmer’s harvest. Others storm a bricklayer’s home and seize his tools. Still others prevent a woman from buying and selling. Why such abuse? It is because the victims, all of whom are Jehovah’s Witnesses, will not take part in age grade associations. ‘In what?’ you may wonder.
An age grade association is made up of people, usually males, who were born at about the same time and in the same village. Age grade groups are common to eastern Nigeria. They may sponsor a community project, but they also engage in idolatrous worship and perform spiritistic rites to show that the members have come of age. Because the Bible condemns such practices for true Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no share in such groups.—1 Corinthians 10:20, 21; 1 John 5:21.
Samuel Okogbue worked as a tailor in Aba, Nigeria. Early in 1978, members of the Umunkalu Age Grade Association of Alayi demanded that he pay a “tax” to help build a health center. As a true Christian, Samuel goes out of his way to help other people, but he conscientiously refused to be involved with the age grade group. On April 22 of that year, six members of the group broke into his shop and seized his sewing machine, which they said they would hold until he paid the money. Samuel protested that he was not obliged to pay anything since he was not a member of their association. When he could not recover his sewing machine, Samuel took the matter to court.
From Court to Court
In the Chief Magistrate Court, the age grade group argued that because of his age, Samuel was automatically one of their members, responsible to pay any taxes they imposed on themselves. Furthermore, native custom held that if a member did not pay a tax, his property would be seized until he did.
The court disagreed. On February 28, 1980, it ruled that Samuel could not be forced to become a member of an age grade group. The Chief Magistrate stated: “A custom which deprives a citizen a free choice of association runs contrary to S[ection] 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore cannot acquire the force of Law.”
The age grade group appealed this verdict to the High Court and won. There the judge ordered Samuel to pay the tax, stating that it was simply a way of contributing to the development of his native community.
Then Samuel appealed what he saw to be an injustice. The Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s judgment, deciding in Samuel’s favor. Unwilling to admit defeat, the age grade group took the case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, group members had been busy in Samuel’s village. Arguing that the Witnesses were against all community projects, they convinced the village head to ban the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the area. The town crier announced that anyone who had dealings with Jehovah’s Witnesses would be fined. Witnesses from neighboring towns intervened and clarified the matter for the older men in the village. They explained that God’s people were in no way opposed to community development. In fact, Samuel had produced receipts in court proving that he had contributed to community projects that were not sponsored by age grade groups. The village elders then reversed their decision to ostracize the Witnesses.
Religious Freedom Triumphs
On October 21, 1991, five justices of the Nigerian Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Samuel. Elaborating on the lead judgment by Justice Paul Nwokedi, Justice Abubakar Wali stated: “It is not the levy [imposed tax] that the respondent [Samuel] is opposed to paying but being a member of any society, club or age grade, as this is against his religious belief, he being a member of Jehovah’s witness[es].”
The justice continued: “The 1963 Constitution, section 24(1) guaranteed to all Nigerian citizens freedom of conscience, thought, and religion. The respondent is entitled to hold to the tenet of his religion, thought and conscience which prohibit him from joining the Age grade. Any custom that holds otherwise is contrary to the Constitution and therefore null and void to that extent.”
In short, the court ruled that no person can be legally compelled to join an age grade group even though membership may be a community custom. It also ruled that no person can be legally compelled to pay dues through an association that he is not a member of, even when the dues are for community development. So in this seemingly small detail, religious freedom for all Nigerians was upheld.