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Nigeria atheist Bala 'deemed mentally ill' in Kano state | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
A Nigerian man has been sent to a mental institute in Kano state after he declared that he did not believe in God, according to a humanist charity. | A Nigerian man has been sent to a mental institute in Kano state after he declared that he did not believe in God, according to a humanist charity. |
Mubarak Bala was being held against his will at the hospital after his Muslim family took him there, it said. | |
The hospital said it was treating Mr Bala, 29, for a "challenging psychological condition", and would not keep him longer than necessary. | |
Kano is a mainly Muslim state and adopted Islamic law in 2000. | |
The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) says that when Mr Bala told relatives he did not believe in God, they asked a doctor if he was mentally ill. | |
Despite being told that he was not unwell, Mr Bala's family then went to a second doctor, who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change, the group says. | Despite being told that he was not unwell, Mr Bala's family then went to a second doctor, who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change, the group says. |
Mr Bala, a chemical engineering graduate, was forcibly committed to a psychiatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, but was able to contact activists using a smuggled phone, it says. | |
IHEU spokesman Bob Churchill said the group was concerned about his "deteriorating condition" and called for his "swift release". | IHEU spokesman Bob Churchill said the group was concerned about his "deteriorating condition" and called for his "swift release". |
The hospital said in a statement that Mr Bala was "comfortable and conscious". | |
He had been admitted because he required treatment under supervision, it added. | |
Mr Bala's lawyer Mohammed Bello told the BBC he intended to arrange for an independent psychological evaluation of his client because of conflicting accounts of his health. |