The Kano State Police Command has denied Mubarak Bala, President of Humanist Association of Nigeria, access to his lawyer.
SaharaReporters gathered that Bala has been held incommunicado and is being beaten and tortured by the police.
He was arrested in Kaduna three days ago following a petition by some lawyers that he insulted Prophet Muhammad on Facebook and detained in Kaduna for a night before being transferred to Kano on Wednesday. 
“Since taken to Kano, the police authorities have not allowed him to see his lawyer. The police authorities have been blocking efforts to understand the details of the complaint. This is in breach of Mubarak’s human rights. 
“There are concerns over the state of his health, especially with the outbreak of a strange disease and the Coronavirus in Kano. In the last 48 hours, there has been no independent confirmation that Mubarak is alive and well, there is no confirmation that he is not being maltreated and that his rights are not being violated.
“Given the nature of the allegation, there are serious concerns over Mubarak’s health. Mubarak is hypertensive. We are worried that Mubarak could be killed while in detention given the several death threats that he has received.
“The police authorities shouldn’t be lawless as they are not above the law, they should grant Mubarak access to his lawyer today and also charge him to court formally or release him unconditionally,” his lawyer told SaharaReporters. 
