By Ismail Auwal
A High Court sitting in Kano has sentenced Mubarak Bala to 24 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to 18-count charges against him.
Bala pleaded guilty to all the 18-count charges bordering on incitement and breach of public peace leveled against him despite efforts by his counsel to convince him to change the plea.
Bala, who is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested at his home in Kaduna State on April 28, 2020, for using his Facebook account to post messages considered to be blasphemous to Islam.
The pressing Judge, Justice Farouk Lawan of Kano High Court 4, Audu Bako Secretariat on Tuesday asked him whether he knew the consequences of his guilty plea, but Bala insisted on his plea but begged the court for leniency.
He, however, said the intent of his social media posts was not to cause violence, promising not to repeat similar posts in the future.
Passing the sentence, Justice Lawan sentenced him to 24 years imprisonment
