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Lawyer Of Activist Arrested For ‘Insulting Prophet Muhammad’ Writes Inspector General Of Police, Seeks Transfer Of Case To Abuja Over Threats To Life

In a letter to the IGP on Thursday signed by F. Baba Isa on behalf of FBI Legal, Bala's lawyer said they have evidence to show that his life was no longer safe in Kaduna or Kano due to threats over the "unfounded allegations".

Lawyer to Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, has written Nigeria's Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, seeking the transfer of the case of the young man from Kano State to Abuja over threats to his life.

Bala was arrested on Tuesday in Kaduna after a petition was written by a group to the Kano State Police Command over alleged blasphemy. [story_link align="left"]80179[/story_link]

In a letter to the IGP on Thursday signed by F. Baba Isa on behalf of FBI Legal, Bala's lawyer said they have evidence to show that his life was no longer safe in Kaduna or Kano due to threats over the "unfounded allegations".

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The letter reads, "This accusation against our client has generated, expectedly, a lot of furore and several persons have threatened to kill our client if he is ever brought to Kano. Most of these threats were via phone calls directly to our client before he was arrested and some threats were made on social media.

"We urgently request that the matter be immediately transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja as we are aware that any moment from now our client will be transferred physically to the Kano State Police Command.[story_link align="left"]80184[/story_link]

"Considering the very delicate circumstances of the accusations made against Mubarak Bala, we are greatly concerned not only for his safety but for the safety of men and officers of the Nigeria Police and other innocent civilians in and around any station he is being held in Kaduna or Kano.

"We understand the sovereign responsibility of the Nigeria Police to uphold law and order. We also do not believe that the intention of the Kano State Police Command is to create a potentially volatile situation which could snowball into a grave tragedy which will lead to the loss of lives and destruction of public and private property including the police station where he is being held."

Isa called on the IGP to consider the Coronavirus pandemic in, which Kano was already emerging as an epicentre, and avert a situation that will further lead to the loss of lives and property of people in the state. [story_link align="right"]80201[/story_link]