Fees in opposition to Mubarak Bala are connected to feedback he posted on Fb in April 2020 that have been vital of Islam and which government in Kano thought to be blasphemous and an insult to the faith, his attorney stated.
When requested by way of Kano Prime Court docket Pass judgement on Farouk Lawan whether or not he were coerced to go into a to blame plea to the 18 fees, Bala stated he did so of his personal loose will.
Bala, who heads the Humanist Affiliation of Nigeria, used to be arrested at his house within the northern Kaduna state two years in the past and used to be then moved to neighbouring Kano, a majority Muslim and conservative state.
The Humanist Affiliation stated Tuesday that Mubarak’s to blame plea “used to be now not a part of the agreed criminal technique, and got here as a marvel (to) his criminal staff.”
Bala’s attorney, James Ibor, stated Tuesday’s sentencing used to be “very outrageous” and might be challenged.
“The sentence infringes his proper as an atheist,” Ibor advised Reuters.
Kano’s Commissioner for Knowledge, Mohammed Garba, advised CNN on Wednesday that the state executive “would abide by way of the rulings of the courtroom.”
Convictions for blasphemy aren’t new in Kano,the place a model of Sharia legislation operates and is enforced by way of a non secular police referred to as the Hisbah Corps.
