Man hospitalised in Kano ‘for denying God’

A 29-year-old man has been hospitalised for “psychiatric examination” in Kano State for saying there is no God.

According to a report on the BBC website, Mubarak Bala told his family he did not believe in God.

His relatives then took him to a doctor to determine the state of his mental health, but the doctor reportedly told them Bala was all right.

Dissatisfied, they took him to another doctor who said Bala’s atheism was a side-effect of suffering “a personality change”.

Bala was then placed on admission at the psychiatric ward of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital “against his will”, according to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a non-governmental organisation which he contacted from his hospital bed.

The hospital, in a statement, said it was treating Bala for “challenging psychological condition” and would not keep him “longer than necessary”.

IHEU spokesman Bob Churchill told the BBC his group was concerned about his “deteriorating condition” and called for his “swift release”, although the hospital said Bala was “comfortable and conscious”.

Bala’s lawyer, Mohammed Bello, told the BBC he would arrange for an independent psychological evaluation of his client.

PHOTO: bbc.co.uk