A group under the aegis of Friends of Mubarak Bala, who is currently serving a 24-year jail term at a Kano prison, has written an open letter to the Kano State Governor-elect, Abba Yusuf, requesting a full pardon for the activist.
Bala, a self-proclaimed atheist, was on April 5, 2022, sentenced by a Kano State High Court sitting at Audu Bako for blasphemy.
Bala, who was the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, went viral in 2020 following his arrest in Kaduna for blasphemy against Allah and Prophet Muhammad, having been earlier incarcerated in a correctional facility for about two years.
Bala pleaded guilty to committing blasphemy, saying that his Facebook posts were not meant to cause violence and that he would take precautions henceforth.
In a statement sent to The PUNCH on Tuesday, and signed by the friends, Omole Ibukun, Elubeku Adisa, Marvelous Alemonu, Freeman Rabiu and others, they claimed that Bala had pleaded guilty to the allegations because his wife and child were threatened.
They thereby appealed to the Governor-elect to pardon the convict.
“We are writing to appeal to you on behalf of our community of humanists that upon your swearing-in, you should take the step to release Mubarak Bala who has been jailed for blasphemy.
“He was detained without being charged (after being apprehended in Kaduna for blasphemy) in April 2020 as a result of a Facebook post he made, which was alleged to be blasphemous because it was critical of religiosity. Since then, he had been moved around a lot in detention, between Kano, Kaduna, and Abuja.
“We understand that after pleading guilty to all 24 charges and requesting leniency, Mubarak was given a sentence of 24 years by a secular court,” the group said.
The friends claimed they had it on good authority that “Bala pleaded guilty because he had been threatened with the safety of his young family- his wife and his baby boy.”
They maintained that freedom of religion and freedom of expression were basic rights enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, “and we urge you to uphold these values by releasing Bala and dropping all charges against him.”
“We understand that all types of convicts in Nigeria are legally entitled to respite, clemency, or pardon, indefinitely or for a specific period, which is granted by the Governor and the President, respectively. It is this indefinite pardon that we appeal for as you take the mantle as the new governor of the state.”
Days after Bala was sentenced, his wife, Amina, said she did not accept the judgement against her husband.
Amina who said she could not sleep nor eat, vowed to appeal her husband’s conviction.
“We will appeal the case. I don’t accept that judgment against my husband. We will pursue it to the Supreme Court,” she said in an interview with The PUNCH.
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