Update: Mubarak Bala has now been released, and is in hiding at a secret location. He has spoken about his detention.
Mubarak Bala, 29, lives in Kano state, Nigeria. Recently, he told his family that he did not believe in God. They sought medical help and he was subsequently admitted to a psychiatric hospital, as the New Humanist reported last week. Bala contacted humanist organisations and bloggers using a smuggled mobile phone. Here, Courtney Heard, one of the bloggers Bala first contacted, discusses the case.
What is your connection to the case?
I am the blogger who Mubarak originally contacted along with a few others when he first asked for help. He knew me through Twitter and sent me an email outlining what had happened. Using my blog, I launched the campaign #FreeMubarak which, on the first day, drummed up so much response that it actually crashed my website.
What is the current situation?
Mubarak is currently being held at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. He is not safe. He is being drugged on a daily basis and is at the mercy of an Islamist father, in a state under sharia law. We are genuinely afraid for his life.
Which organisations are helping?
The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has been the sole organisation that has helped us. Bob Churchill was contacted after the original email and has been nothing but incredibly supportive and devoted to this since. There are IHEU members on the ground in Nigeria who have been doing all the leg work. Bamidele Adeneye has been integral and the support of known humanist activist, Leo Igwe, has helped a great deal. At this stage, absolutely no organisation has helped except IHEU. We would have gotten nowhere without them.
What steps are being taken?
Through IHEU we located a lawyer who has remained in Kano and visited Mubarak on multiple occasions. His plan of action is to file an action on behalf of Mubarak and hopefully have the hospital release him.
The authorities have not responded. The hospital claim they are not holding him against his will, but his clear expression to us and the lawyer that all he wants is to get out, prove that wrong.
Has his family been contacted?
There have been attempts made to contact the family, to no avail. They recently issued their own statement saying that Mubarak is suffering from some form of mental illness and is not being held against his will. However his father’s strong and open association with organisations upholding sharia law, which says apostasy must be met with death, make that doubtful.
Is this case unusual in the context of Nigeria?
It is unusual in Nigeria. Not very many people come out as atheist in Nigeria, especially in the north which is under sharia law. It is punishable by death under sharia, so people keep it a secret.
Are there legal protections for religious freedom?
The constitution of Nigeria protects freedom of religion. His constitutional rights are being violated.
Is there a big atheist community in Nigeria?
There are several humanist and atheist groups in Lagos and Abuja. The movement was founded by Leo Igwe, but there are still not very many people who do not identify as religious in the country. I believe 93 per cent of the population claim to be a part of either Islam or Christianity. Islam is dominant in the north, which is ruled by sharia. It is safer in the south for an atheist, because there is no sharia law.
A petition for Mubarak's release is here and a Facebook page has been set up to give updates on the case.
