Further delays in court proceedings are a blow to the quest for justice for Mubarak Bala

A hearing of the case of Mubarak Bala before the Kano State High Court was postponed today. According to Bala’s legal team, the hearing was postponed owing to the ill-health of the judge presiding. A new court date has been set for December.

The postponement is yet another in a succession of blows in the quest for justice for Mubarak Bala, who stands accused of causing a public disturbance due the allegedly “blasphemous” content of five Facebook posts published in April last year.

Bala’s case has been mired with irregularities ever since his arrest on 28 April 2020, including:

• Being denied access to medical care;
• Being held without charge for 462 days;
• Being denied access to his legal team for more than five months;
• Court hearings have been subjected to repeated adjournments;
• The Kano State Police Commissioner repeatedly refused to comply with an order issued by a Magistrate requiring the police to grant Bala access to his legal team;
• The Kano State authorities have failed to comply with a ruling of the Abuja High Court that determined that Bala should be released on bail.

Humanists International believes that Mubarak Bala is being targeted for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and religion or belief, and calls for the case against him to be dropped, for Bala to be released immediately and unconditionally, and for the Nigerian authorities to ensure his safety upon his release. To this end, we urge the state and federal authorities to intervene on behalf of Bala to protect his human rights, including by granting him access to medical treatment.