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In a Facebook post, Nigerian humanist and freethinker Mubarak Bala, who gave up his faith, expressed his surprise at being imprisoned. Bala said in a statement following his release that he was shocked by the repercussions of voicing his opinions online.

Bala clarified in an interview with PUNCH that he became vocal after abandoning his previous religion, which he said resulted in death threats and put his life in jeopardy.

He said he never thought he would be imprisoned by the government for just voicing his views on social media, even if he had anticipated criticism or even physical violence from radicals.

Bala stated: “I never anticipated that my comment on Facebook would land me in prison. Although if you are against the religion, you should expect threats. I expected, perhaps, to be killed, but I never expected that my government would send me to jail for exercising my right to free speech. Because I left a religion, they wanted me dead.”

His case has spurred national and worldwide discussions on Nigerian human rights, religious tolerance, and freedom of speech.

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