UPDATED: Mubarak Bala, Kano atheist, bags 45-year jail sentence

A Kano State High Court sitting at Audu Bako has sentenced a self-confessed atheist, Mubarak Bala, to 45 years’ imprisonment for blasphemy.

Bala, who is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to committing blasphemy against Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

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He made the headlines in 2020 when he was arrested at his residence in Kaduna over blasphemy and incitement.

The convict who had been in a correctional facility for almost two years, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday when he was brought before the court on an 18-count charge.

While pleading with the court on Tuesday to tender justice with mercy, Bala promised not to repeat the said blasphemous post, saying he did not know it would elicit the sort of reactions it got when he shared them.

Earlier, the judge, Justice Farouk Lawan, and the convict’s lawyer, James Ibori, had tried to convince him against his guilty plea but the convict insisted he knew what he was doing and maintained his plea.

In view of his plea, the judge sentenced him to 45 years’ imprisonment.

The lawyer had earlier told the court that his client had a mental problem, for which he was treated at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the convict was sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment, not 24 years as initially reported. The error is regretted.