Fact-Check: No Evidence Zainab Muhamadu Faces Death for Converting to Christianity in Zamfara; Viral News Report Misrepresents an American Woman

BY: Mustapha Lawal

Claim:

A 22-year-old woman named Zainab Muhamadu is facing trial in a Sharia Court in Zamfara State for converting from Islam to Christianity, with the possibility of receiving the death penalty.

Verdict:

False! While multiple credible media outlets have reported that Zainab Muhamadu is due to appear in a Sharia court for converting to Christianity, the Zamfara State Government has categorically denied the existence of such a case. Findings show that the accompanying image to the claim is not that of Zainab Muhamadu but Aalia Reeves, living in Texas. 

Full Text:

On May 20, 2025, Sahara Reporters published a widely circulated article alleging that Zainab Muhamadu, a 22-year-old woman from Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, was arrested by Hisbah officers after converting from Islam to Christianity. The article claimed she was detained for two weeks and would face trial at an Upper Sharia Court, with a possible death penalty under Islamic law.

This story was also published and amplified by several other media platforms, including: Guardian Nigeria, Daily Post, Intel Region, Nairaland, Chronicle Nigeria, and across social media platforms (including X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads)

Across these platforms, the consistent narrative is that Zainab is being prosecuted solely for changing her religion, an act that, while not criminal under Nigeria’s constitution, is contentious under Sharia codes in some northern states.

Given the sensitivity of religious issues in Nigeria, FactCheckAfrica investigates. 

Legal Context

Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (Section 38) guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to change religion. While Zamfara State is one of the twelve northern states practicing Sharia law for Muslims, such courts are subject to constitutional limits and cannot override federal protections.

There is no federal law in Nigeria that permits the death penalty for religious conversion. Previous legal precedents show that apostasy alone is not prosecutable in Nigerian secular courts, and Sharia rulings must conform to broader national law.

Verification

The Zamfara State Government has publicly denied these reports. Speaking through official spokesperson Sulaiman Bala Idris, the government stated via the Katsina Times that:

“There is no such trial. The reports are fabricated and amount to yellow journalism, designed to incite religious discord.”

They further denied that any Sharia court proceedings were scheduled or that the alleged arrest ever occurred. In their view, the media reports lack documentation and are based on unverified claims.

In addition, FactCheckAfrica conducted social media investigations, which raised doubts about the visual materials used to support the claim. In our findings, we found that “The woman in the viral video is not Zainab Muhamadu from Zamfara State, Nigeria, but rather a woman named Aalia from Texas, USA, who embraced Islam after converting from Christianity in 2023. The video circulating online was taken out of context and misrepresented to suggest it depicts a Sharia trial in Zamfara. This misrepresentation has contributed to widespread misinformation.”

Here are links and evidence (A YouTube video of Aalia, her Instagram page and also her VoyageLA interview) tracing the original video and the identity of the woman, showing that the footage was unrelated to Nigeria. This clarification significantly undermines the credibility of the viral claims and highlights the manipulation of visual content in spreading false narratives.

Here is FactcheckAfrica’s summary of claims and evidence

Source: FactCheckAfrica

Conclusion

The viral claim misrepresents facts. No Zamfara Woman, named Zainab Muhamadu, is facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity. There is currently no verifiable evidence, such as court records, charge sheets, or official summons, that confirms Zainab Muhamadu is facing trial in a Sharia court in Zamfara for converting to Christianity. While several reputable media platforms have repeated the story, the Zamfara State Government’s categorical denial and the absence of documentation suggest the claim is at best false, and at worst a case of misinformation.