Some Nigerian atheists and rights activists have raised concerns over the increasing suppression and intimidation of dissenting religious views as witnessed in the sentencing of Mubarak Bala, in April 2022. Bala an outspoken Nigerian atheist was sentenced to 24 years in prison, a development that sent shockwaves internationally. His sentence followed the guilty plea to charges related to blaspheming Islam. What followed is a landmark case that has placed the threats to freedom of religion and expression in Nigeria under new scrutiny.