A High Court sitting in Audu Bako, Kano State, has sentenced Mubarak Bala, an outspoken atheist, to 24 years in prison for blasphemy.

Bala was sentenced by Justice Faruk Lawan after pleading guilty to an 18-count charge before the High Court on Tuesday.

According to The PUNCH, Bala pleaded guilty to committing blasphemy. While pleading for leniency, he said his Facebook posts were not meant to cause violence and he would be careful not to repeat them.

READ ALSO: From Arrest in Kaduna to Birth of Son, 442 Days of Mubarak Bala’s Unlawful Imprisonment for ‘Blasphemy’

The court reminded him of his right to religion but warned that he did not have to undermine the religion of other people, adding that there were many people who shared his ideology but had not undermined other religions.

Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested in Kaduna in 2020, after a petition accusing him of posting uncomplimentary messages about Islam on social media was filed against him.

He was taken from his house in Kaduna State and driven to an unknown location in Kano State on the orders of CP Habu Sani, the former Kano State Commissioner of Police.

Since his arrest, he had been in detention, sparking reactions from different human rights organisations.