Mubarak Bala, an atheist and former president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, has expressed fears for his safety and possible threat to life.
Bala raised the fear sooner after his release from prison after serving four years jail term for blasphemy.
Bala was arrested on April 28, 2020, at his Kaduna residence and transferred to Kano after complaints of blasphemy and incitement were filed against him.
He was also acused of breaching public peace and inciting outrage among Muslims, he pleaded guilty in 2022 to an 18-count charge.
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A Kano State High Court initially sentenced him to 24 years in prison, but the term was reduced by an appellate court, which deemed the sentence excessive.
Speaking to the BBC after his release, Bala said, “The freedom is here but also, there is an underlying threat that I will now have to face, probably all those years those threats are maybe out there while I was under the security system. The concern about my safety is always there.”
Bala explained his guilty plea, stating it was a protective measure.
“I believe that what I did then was saving not only my life but people in the state and especially those that were attached to my case because they were also targets,” he said.
His appeal was based on four grounds, which included the lack of jurisdiction by the Kano State High Court and the misapplication of the law in sentencing him to consecutive terms.