Kano Atheist, Mubarak Bala, Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to 24 Years Imprisonment
By Salisu Manaja
A Kano State High Court sitting at Audu Bako has sentenced a self-proclaimed atheist, Mubarak Bala, to 24 years imprisonment for blasphemy.
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Bala, who is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, went viral in 2020 following his arrest in Kaduna for allegedly making blasphemous comments against Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and had been in a correctional facility for about two years.
He pleaded guilty to the offence, saying that his Facebook posts were not meant to cause violence but he would take caution henceforth and not to repeat the act.
The court, presided over by Justice Faruk Lawan, reminded him of his right to religion but warned that where his right stopped, that of others started, and added that there were many people with Bala’s ideology but they are not in the business of insulting other people’s religions.
