Insults on TB Joshua: The case against Mubarak Bala

&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Mubarak Bala&comma; the well-known atheist arrested in Kaduna State for insulting Prophet Muhammed by describing him as a terrorist&comma; equally has a history of mocking prominent Nigerian clergyman TB Joshua&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Many Nigerians woke on Wednesday morning to find &num;FreeMubarakBala trending on Twitter in Nigeria&comma; spurred by the arrest of President of Humanist Association of Nigeria&comma; Mubarak Bala&comma; over his social media post comparing Prophet Muhammed to TB Joshua of The Synagogue&comma; Church Of All Nations &lpar;SCOAN&rpar;&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>However&comma; it can be revealed that hours before his arrest&comma; the prominent atheist also posted a picture mocking the visit of The SCOAN Founder to a &OpenCurlyQuote;prayer mountain’ for prayers against the COVID-19 pandemic&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Bala posted a photoshopped image of Joshua in prayers on his Facebook Page with a scantily dressed lady standing beside him&comma; suggesting she was &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;satan’s wife” who was &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;tempting the man of God”&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The day earlier&comma; he shared another taunting post&comma; insinuating Joshua’s visit was merely orchestrated for the purpose of taking photographs&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Bala’s arrest has sparked a deluge of reactions on Twitter&comma; with some Nigerians describing his detention as unlawful and others stating the outspoken atheist was getting what he deserved for making such provocative posts&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>In 2014&comma; then 29-year-old Bala was said to have been forcefully committed by his family to a psychiatric hospital in Kano when he renounced Islam&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Though Bala’s family believed he was insane&comma; he was later discharged from the psychiatric hospital after his mental stability was medically confirmed&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Bala has a history of making defamatory statements regarding Islam and other religions&comma; particularly drawing the ire of Islamic fundamentalists in Northern Nigeria&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;