What should atheists do when they find a State Governor is promoting a project to build an enormous 8,500-seat Christian worship centre and is contributing state funding?

This is happening now in Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria, a country with a Federal Constitution that explicitly mandates separation of religion and state. Our affiliate, the Atheist Society of Nigeria, instructed lawyers to write to Governor Udom Emmanuel, to demand the cessation of the project, and for the contributions made by the government to be publicly disclosed.

The Governor has failed to respond to either letter. So what next?

With AAI’s help, the Atheist Society of Nigeria will take the matter to court and let a Judge rule on the legality of the Governor’s involvement in this overtly religious project. This will be the first time in history that atheists have sued a state government in Nigeria and the ruling will be a crucial test case that will clarify the law and is likely to impact many other instances of state-religion entanglement across the country.

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The Humanist Association of Nigeria recorded another milestone in June: it successfully organized its first ever event in Northern Nigeria, which is a predominantly Muslim region. Sharia law is enforced in most of the states and clashes between Christians and Muslims are frequent. Boko Haram militants are active in the area.

The event, sponsored by the International Humanist and Ethical Union, was held in Jos, in Plateau State, and participants explored ways of tackling recurrent ethnoreligious conflicts and achieving peace and tolerance in the area. One of the attendees noted: "The truth is that our people are tired of these organized superstitions that are destroying their collective humanity, but they lack the platform to freely express themselves".

This program was a small but significant step towards realizing this aspiration. At the end of the program, the Plateau State Chapter of the Humanist Association of Nigeria was inaugurated. Similar meetings are planned in other parts of Nigeria in the coming months. In July, humanists will be meeting in Owerri to discuss how to combat superstitious beliefs and practices such as ritual murders and ‘witch’ persecution. Another humanist event is planned for Kaduna before the end of the year.

Pictured: Leo Igwe