Metro
Self-confessed atheist jailed 24 years for blasphemy in Kano
Justice Farouk Lawan of the Kano State High Court on Tuesday sentenced a self-confessed atheist, Mubarak Bala, to 24 years imprisonment for blasphemy.
The state government arraigned Bala who is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria on an 18-count charge of blasphemy and public incitement.
He was arrested at his Kaduna home on April 28, 2020 after posting comments critical of Islam, Allah and Prophet Muhammad on Facebook, causing outrage among Muslims.
One of the posts read: “Religion is not a person, long dead people are dead, Gods do not exist, so why fear analysis & critique on works attributed to them?
There had been campaigns for his release with activists saying he was prevented from seeing his wife and lawyer by prison authorities.
When the convict appeared in court on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to all the charges.
READ ALSO: Ganduje pledges to ensure logical conclusion in alleged blasphemy case against cleric
The defence counsel, James Ibor, had previously tried to persuade his client to change his plea, but he insisted that he was guilty of the charges.
The counsel cited frustration and fear as reasons for his client’s guilty plea, saying he had been in prison for two years.
Bala, who appeared unruffled, raised his hand and told the court that he was guilty as charged.
He, however, said the social media posts were not intended to cause violence and promised not to repeat such in the future.
In his ruling, Justice Lawan sentenced the convict to 24 years imprisonment.
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