To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will raise with her Nigerian counterpart the recent sentencing of Mubarak Bala, President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, to 24 years in prison for the expression of his opinions on Facebook.
Answered on
26 April 2022
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. This is a longstanding human rights policy priority for the UK Government, and we look forward to hosting a global summit to promote FoRB later this year.
The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. The UK Government believes that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society. We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely, and will continue to stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.