A prominent Nigerian atheist, who was just released after serving more than four years in prison for blasphemy, is now living in a safe house as his legal team fears his life could be in danger.
Mubarak Bala, 40, was sentenced in a court in the northern city of Kano after, in a surprise move, he pleaded guilty to 18 charges related to a controversial Facebook post published in 2020.
“The concern for my safety is always there,” he told the BBC in an exclusive interview as he tucked into his first meal as a free man.
Nigeria is a deeply religious society and those deemed to have offended religion – be it Islam or Christianity – face shunning and discrimination.
Blasphemy is an offense under Islamic law – sharia – which operates alongside secular law in 12 northern states. It is also an offense under the Nigerian Penal Code.
Bala, who renounced Islam in 2014, said there were times during his imprisonment when he felt he “might not get out alive”. He feared he might be targeted by guards or other inmates at the first prison he was in, in Kano, a Muslim-majority city.
“Freedom is here, but there is also an underlying threat that I must now face,” he said. “All those years, those threats, maybe they’re out there.”
He could have been inside for much longer but for an appeals court judge who last year reduced the initial 24-year sentence, describing it as “excessive”.
Emerging from prison in the capital, Abuja, Bala looked tired but cheerful in a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and flip-flops. He appeared with his beaming lawyer by his side.
“Everything is new to me. Everything is new,” he said as he enjoyed his newfound freedom.
Bala, an outspoken religious critic, was arrested after a group of lawyers filed a complaint with the police over the social media post.
He then spent two years in prison awaiting trial before being sentenced in 2022.
Bala’s guilty plea at the time confused many, even his legal team, but he stands by his decision, saying it eased the pressure on those who stood by him, including his lawyers, friends and family.
“I believe what I did saved not only my life but also the people of Kano,” he said.
– Especially those who were attached to my case, because they are also a target.
International human rights groups condemned his conviction and sparked a debate about freedom of speech in Nigeria.
His detention also sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s small atheist and humanist communities, and his release brought relief to many, but concerns remain.
“It’s a thank you and a no thank you,” said Leo Igwe, founder of the Humanist Association of Nigeria.
“Thank you for coming out, thank you for being a free man. But no thanks, because there is a stain on him as if he committed a crime. For us in the Humanist Association, he did not commit any crime.”
As for Bala, he wants to make up for lost time – including getting to know his young son, who was just six weeks old when he was incarcerated. But he said he has no regrets.
“My activism, my posts on social media, I always knew the worst would happen. When I made the decision to come out, I knew I could be killed. I knew the dangers, and I still decided to do it.”
