The appeals court in Kano has commuted atheist Mubarak Bala’s 24-year sentence to five years.
Bala currently serves as the head of Nigeria’s Humanist Association.
Alleged charges of blasphemy and provocation led to his detention at his apartment in Kaduna.
In 2022, Bala was handed a 24-year prison term for blasphemy against Allah and Prophet Muhammad by a Kano State High Court.
Following his guilty plea to charges of “causing a public disturbance,” Bala contested his 24-year prison term.
His sentence has been reduced to five years in prison, according to divinejams’s reporting on Monday.
Written by his lawyer James Ibor and published on his Facebook page under the headline “Mubarak Bala’s first victory,” the news spread quickly.
Bala had given his attorneys four reasons to challenge the conviction.
The appeal is based on four points: the Kano State High Court’s lack of jurisdiction, the judge’s biased decision to convict, the fact that Bala was not given the benefits of a guilty plea, and the fact that Bala was sentenced to consecutive sentences due to a misapplication of the law.