Cause for celebration: Mubarak Bala arrives in Germany

Humanists International wholeheartedly welcomes the news that Nigerian humanist, Mubarak Bala, has safely arrived in Germany, where he will undertake a six-month residency hosted by Humanistische Vereinigung and funded by the Elisabeth Selbert Initiative.

Mubarak Bala together with Michael Bauer and Stefan Lobenhofer from Humanistische Vereinigung

Michael Bauer, Chairman of Humanistische Vereinigung

Michael Bauer, chairman of Humanistische Vereinigung, welcomed Bala, stating:

“The Humanist Association has been committed to international human rights work for many years. Therefore, I am particularly pleased that, as a partner organization of the Federal Foreign Office and in cooperation with the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), we were able to ensure that Mubarak Bala was able to travel to Germany. Our Humanist Shelter Program enables him to recover, make new contacts, and supports him in continuing his work here in freedom. We extend our special thanks to the Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Frank Schwabe, who has worked closely with us to secure Bala’s release. This is a good day for the international humanist community, one we have been working toward together for a very long time.”

Exactly five years after his detention – a detention the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deemed arbitrary – Mubarak Bala arrived in Germany on 28 April 2025. He will spend the next six months there as a resident in Humanistische Vereinigung’s Humanist Shelter Programme. This residency offers Bala a chance to share his experiences and knowledge, acquire new skills, and recover from his five-year ordeal, allowing him to plan for his future.

Mubarak Bala

Mubarak Bala, former President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, commented:

“The dark times fading away, rays of light coming from the horizon, along with a glimmer of hope, seeping through several windows you all opened for me… I see a bright Sun, and a new morning, that amidst these so much losses, new beginnings are here again a second time, all within a decade of each other… This time, it shall endure a lifetime.

No longer do I dread the routine sounds of the locks, nor the dark, certainly not the extreme weather, too hot or too cold, no longer ill, no longer hungry, no longer lonely, and no longer dreading that the marauders are coming across the fence, to drag me out and behead me. […]

My fellow Sapiens, I greet you all, from Alaska to Sydney, across land eastwards, and the Pacific westwards, after about half a decade without word, I wish to sincerely express my gratitudes and appreciation, to all of you, Humanists, Christians, Muslims, Secularists, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha’is, and all other sections of the sapien species, that had over the years given up their time, resources, prayers, best wishes, advocacy, paperworks, documentations, signatures, fundings, and good thoughts, letters & mails, gift cards, mentions, the vigils, the daily posts and tags, reaching out to my immediate family, offering financial, emotional and material assistance and support, seeing to it that my son survives and grows in good condition I met him today, I have no words to thank you […]

I thank you all, for your tremendous support in all forms, individuals directly, or donors via HI and affiliate organizations, I thank you immensely. I wish to also thank the Nigeria Humanist community, our several advocates, our secular society members, individuals, family and friends, even from across the dogma divide, especially fellow victims of Islam, the Christians, and fringe Islamic sects, and the Muslim Hausa community of northern Nigeria, your solidarity is recognized. Thank you. […]

I am traveling for medical checks, treatments, recuperation and seeking further education to buy time, pending when my people see sense and let people leave the religions they’re born into in peace, without death threats, without traumatizations or pariah-ish boycotts and mistreatment. I hope to return and change things in my country, for a better, more promising trajectory, hopefully, at the highest office…

Thank you Humanists International, thank you affiliate Humanist Organizations that chipped in time and resources, and most importantly, thank you individual Sapiens… may we not share similar fate as our long gone primate cousins, due to our nativities as we change significantly, our mother-maker-planet, Amen.”

Mubarak Bala meeting wtih Michael Bauer, Stefan Lobenhofer and Anika Herbst shortly after his arrival in Germany

Upon learning of his detention, Humanists International and its global network of members and supporters immediately mobilized. They raised public awareness and crucial funds for his legal defense.

Over the past five years, a powerful international advocacy network was formed, comprising Humanists International staff and member organizations, lawyers, UN representatives, government bodies, diplomats, public servants, the media, international and domestic NGOs, public figures, and concerned individuals. All worked toward the unified goal of Mubarak Bala’s release and safety.

Andrew Copson, President of Humanists International

Andrew Copson, President of Humanists International, commented:

“The sheer scale of the work to secure Bala’s release and relocation cannot be overstated. It has involved hundreds, if not thousands of people, acting in both an individual and professional capacity; from members of the public writing letters of concern and protesting outside embassies, sending in donations and providing other tangible forms of support to Mubarak and his family; to Members and Associates lobbying their diplomatic representatives; to NGOs like Freedom House, Freedom Now, the Prisoners of Conscience Initiative and Secular Rescue, the diplomats, the civil servants, the lawyers, and the team at Humanists International. And, of course, to Humanistische Vereinigung for running such a vital programme of support to humanists at risk. To all of you, I would like to extend our gratitude. None of this would have been possible without you.”