Atheist, Mubarak Bala, jailed for blasphemy fears for life despite release after four years in prison
An atheist, Mubarak Bala, jailed for blaspheming Islam on social media in Kano has been released after spending four years in prison.
On Tuesday, the BBC reported Mr Bala’s release from prison after four years having pleaded guilty to 18-count charges bordering on his Facebook posts in 2020.
Mr Bala, 40, in a short interview with the BBC, said he pleaded guilty to save his life and others in Kano when asked why he pleaded guilty back then.
“I believe what I did then was saving not only my life but people in the state and people attached to my case because they were also a target,” Mr Bala said.
Mr Bala regained freedom after an appellate court reduced his 20-year sentence to four. However, he remains in hiding over fear for his safety.
“The concern about my safety is always there,” Mr Bala said “Freedom is here, but also there is an underlying threat I now have to face. All those years, those threats, maybe they’re out there.”
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
Sokoto, Zamfara customs gets new acting area controller
The Nigeria Customs Service has appointed Haliru Isah-Abdullahi as the new acting customs area controller of the Sokoto-Zamfara area command.
Economy
OpenAI cancels release of new AI model over safety concerns
OpenAI said GPT-6.1 Astra was not honest in disclosing its full actions to users and carried out instructions without being prompted.
Africa
DR Congo Ebola cases hit 8,067 as violence disrupts humanitarian response
DR Congo has confirmed 8,067 Ebola cases and 3,901 deaths as violence and insecurity in the Ituri Province disrupt humanitarian efforts, displacing thousands of individuals.
World
Argentina threatens UK with lawsuit over Falklands oil
The Sea Lion is an offshore oilfield being developed by Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and England’s Rockhopper Exploration.
Politics
National Assembly to translate laws into Nigerian languages
The National Assembly will soon translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other local languages to expand public access to legislative information.
States
Kaduna residents welcome Tinubu’s increased security recruitment
Kaduna residents have welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s administration decision to recruit more military and police personnel to boost security across the nation.
