The Court of Appeal in Kano State has revised Mubarak Bala’s sentence from 24 years to five years.
Initially convicted for blasphemy against Allah and Prophet Muhammad in April 2022, Bala, the President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, attracted attention in 2020 with his arrest in Kaduna.
Following his guilty plea for ‘causing a public disturbance,’ Bala appealed the sentence, leading to the recent reduction. His lawyer, Mr. James Ibor, expressed gratitude, stating, “the court agreed with us that the sentence was against the law,” as reported by SaharaReporters on Monday
“The full judgement will be published later this week so until then, I don’t have much to say,” he added.
Despite Mubarak Bala’s guilty plea, his legal team is keen to understand the court’s stance on his challenge over its jurisdiction. Humanists International raised concerns that his plea may have been coerced.
On February 21, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Kano accepted the regularization of Bala’s appeal, following delays in document submission, and received written arguments from both prosecution and defense.
According to court documents reviewed by Humanists International, Bala instructed his lawyers to appeal on four grounds listed: “Lack of jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court; the Judge’s predisposition to convict as indicated in the delivery of his ruling; failure to accord Bala the benefits of a guilty plea and misapplication of law in sentencing Bala to consecutive terms.”
Humanists International on its website said it “believes that Nigerian humanist Mubarak Bala has been targeted solely for his peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of religion or belief, and expression”.
It had urged the Appeal Court to set aside the Judgment of the trial Court and uphold Bala’s appeal, quashing his conviction and facilitating his immediate and unconditional release.