Nigerian atheist jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to blasphemy

In a historic case that has brought new attention to the challenges to freedom of expression in Nigeria, a famous Nigerian humanist has been sentenced to 24 years in jail after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges.

Mubarak Bala, the president of the Nigerian Humanist Association, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon, two years after his arrest on April 28, 2020, at his home in northern Kaduna state. He was subsequently transferred to Kano, where members of the religious establishment had called for action against him in the predominantly Muslim and conservative state.Bala sought a change of plea to guilty in court on Tuesday, much to the amazement of his legal team, according to one of his lawyers. "All of a sudden, he altered his plea and pled guilty to all 18 counts... "We were taken aback."

Bala may have considered the guilty plea as a method to finish the matter, according to his lawyer. "It seems like he believed he owed it to himself to know his fate." He had no idea when it will all be over. He may have hoped that pleading guilty would result in some clemency, but the verdict was severe," he added.

According to theguardian

Bala was detained without charge for a year, during which his whereabouts were unknown and he was denied contact with his lawyer or family for months. A high court in the capital, Abuja, ordered his release on bail but the ruling was ignored by Nigerian authorities in Kano and Kaduna.His case has been seen as an example of a clampdown on voices judged to be critical of religious orthodoxy, in a deeply conservative region. Bala had previously been forcibly committed into a psychiatric facility by his family in Kano, after he renounced Islam in 2014.

Following Bala’s sentence, Igwe claimed that members of the religious establishment had likely threatened Bala to admit guilt. “He was under pressure to admit he was guilty and that otherwise he could die in prison. It was impressed on him by authorities in Kano that the only way his family could be safe was if he admitted that he was guilty, so even against legal advice he decided to agree and face the consequences.”