A prominent Nigerian atheist, who has just been released after spending more than four years in prison for blasphemy, is now living in a safe house where his legal team fears his life is in danger.
Mubarak Bala, 40, was found guilty in a court in the northern city of Kano after he, in a surprise move, pleaded guilty to 18 charges related to a controversial Facebook post shared in 2020.
“The concern about my safety is always there,” he told the BBC in an exclusive interview as he ate his first meal as a free man.
Nigeria is a deeply religious society, and those who might be perceived as having insulted a religion – be it Islam or Christianity – face ostracism and discrimination.
Blasphemy is considered a crime under Islamic law, which operates alongside secular law in 12 states in the north. It is also a crime under the Nigerian Criminal Code.
Bala, who left Islam in 2014, said there were times during his imprisonment when he felt he “might not get out alive.” He feared he had been targeted by guards or fellow prisoners at his first prison, in Kano, a Muslim-majority city.
“Freedom is here, but there is also a fundamental threat that I must now face,” he said. “All those years, those threats, they might have been there.”
He would have been in prison for longer had an appeals court judge not reduced the initial 24-year sentence last year, describing it as “excessive”.
Walking out of prison in the capital, Abuja, Bala looked tired but cheerful, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and flip-flops. He walked out with his beaming lawyer by his side.
“Everything is new to me,” he said as he regained his new freedom. “Everything is new.”
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 convicted in 2022.
At the time, Bala's guilty plea baffled many, even his legal team, but he stands by his decision, saying it eased pressure on those who stood by him, including his lawyers, friends and family.
“I believe what I did not only saved my life but also saved people in Kano,” he said.
“Especially those who were linked to my case, because they are also a target.”
His conviction was widely condemned by international human rights groups and sparked debate over freedom of expression in Nigeria.
His arrest also sent shockwaves through Nigeria's small atheist and humanist communities, and his release came as a relief to many, but concerns remain.
“It's a no thanks,” said Leo Igwe, founder of the Humanist Association of Nigeria.
“Thanks that he got out, thanks because he's a free man. But no thanks, because there's a mark on him as if he committed a crime. To us at the Humane Society, he committed no crime.”
As for Bala, he is keen to make up for lost time, including getting to know his young son, who was just six weeks old when he was imprisoned. But he said he has no regrets.
“Through my activism and posts on social media, I always knew the worst would happen, and when I made the decision to go out, I knew I might get killed. I knew the risks, and I still decided to do it.”
