The High Court of Kano State in Nigeria convicted and sentenced Muhammad Mubarak Bala, a self-identified atheist, to 24 years in prison for blasphemy and breach of public peace. Bala was arrested for posting messages on his Facebook page in March 2020 that were deemed blasphemous and potentially disruptive to public peace. He was arrested in Kaduna State, his neighboring state, in April 2020, following a petition by a group of lawyers. Bala spent a year in detention without charges before finally being arraigned in February 2022. Two years after his arrest, he changed course and he pleaded guilty to 18 amended charges in April 2022. The Court, in its decision, noted that Bala did not provide sufficient reasons to avoid conviction, leading to his sentencing to 24 years in prison for the offenses.
On May 30, 2022, Bala’s legal team initiated the appeal process.