A court in the northern city of Kano found 40-year-old Mubarak Bala guilty after he unexpectedly entered a guilty plea to 18 charges connected to a contentious 2020 Facebook post.
In an exclusive interview with the news, he said, “The concern about my safety is always there,” while enjoying his first supper as a free man.
Because of the strong religious ties in Nigeria, anybody who might be perceived as disparaging Islam or Christianity risk exclusion and discrimination.
Blasphemy is a crime under Sharia, the Islamic legal code that coexists with secular law in 12 northern states. According to Nigeria’s penal code, it is also illegal.
