#FREEMUBARAK: HUMAN RIGHTS MUST SUPERSEDE RELIGIOUS RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

I had never met the victim before, I had never seen him around the neighbourhood ever, but I was concerned when i saw a man being beaten and rough handled by a bunch of other men on a Sunday morning. He was kneeling down, begging them to please stop hurting him, all to no avail. I approached them and held the one who seemed to be the gang leader...i found out he was being beaten over a spurious and unfounded allegation of stealing rubbles from the road in broad daylight. As goodness would have it, the rubbles he was being beaten over were mine. He was glad i stepped in and so was i.

It mattered less to me what his tribe was, which ethnic group he belonged to or which religion he followed, i saw a human being in desperate need of a saviour and i stepped in.

Mubarak Bala is a total stranger to me. My first interaction with him was just about a month ago. He seemed very lucid and logical from our first interaction and up to the most recent ones we had. I was shocked to hear that he had been remanded in a psychiatric ward by his father because he did not believe in the creation story!

Or humanity should matter more than anything else we might ever be associated with..everything else is extraneous..life should matter more than tribal, ethnic or religious affiiations.

The constitution of Nigeria clearly states

38. (1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

Remanding him in a mental home because he refuses to continue being a muslim is a violation of Mubarak’s human rights. This is an issue every human being should speak against. It shouldn’t matter if Mubarak is a Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Eckanker, Jew, Bhuddist, Scientologist...his life is what matter. Human Rights should ALWAYS supersede religious rights.

We will like all Nigerians and all people around the world in joining us, the Lagos Humanists Movement, in campaigning for governments across the world to place Human Rights above all other rights!