A group of Muslims had filed a petition to the authorities against Mubarak Bala after he allegedly posted uncomplimentary messages against Islam on social media.

The 37-year-old is president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, and was arrested by the authorities in 2020 in neighbouring Kaduna state and later transferred to Kano, his home state.

He denies the blasphemy charges filed by the Kano state government.

He was taken to the Kano state High Court on Monday by security guards from a prison where he had been detained. Wearing a white T-shirt, Mr Bala appeared relaxed and sometimes smiled during the court sitting.

The court has rejected his bail application because of what the judge called his "safety". The trial is expected to continue on Tuesday.

Kano is one of around a dozen states in northern Nigeria where Sharia law is practised along with Nigerian secular laws.

But Mr Bala’s trail is taking place in a secular court. He could have faced the death penalty if tried in Sharia court.

UN human rights experts and a number of international rights groups have condemned his continued detention and called for his release.

Mubarak Bala renounced Islam in 2014. After his decision, he was then deemed mentally ill in the predominantly Muslim region and reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital before being released.