The Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) has condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State, on allegations of blasphemy.
While calling for calm, the chairman of the forum and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in a statement, yesterday, expressed the governor’s concern about the development, which was clearly an extrajudicial measure of addressing perceived infractions.
Deborah, a second-year student of Home Economics, was killed on Thursday following an allegation that she had blasphemed the Prophet of Islam. The victim was stoned to death and her body burnt by a mob of Muslim students after she made a post they deemed insulted Prophet Muhammad.
Her body was buried on Saturday evening in her hometown, Tungar Magajiya, Rijau Council of Niger State. Her death has sparked outrage from various individuals and groups across the country, including the Christian community, who demanded that her killers be brought to justice.
Lalong frowned at the adoption of self-help in addressing grievances, whether religious or otherwise, which he observed could only lead to further chaos that could threaten law and order as well as the general peace and security of the society.
The NGF, while commiserating with the family of the victim, urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter and ensure that the law takes its full course on anyone found wanting or culpable in the circumstance.
In the aftermath of the 24-hour curfew imposed on Sokoto metropolis on Saturday, normalcy yesterday gradually returned to the city ravaged by violent protests at the weekend.
The curfew, announced in a statewide broadcast by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, was to stem the violent protest sparked by a procession along major streets, demanding the release of the two suspects Sokoto Police Command claimed are in their custody, with regards to the gruesome killing.
Parents of the deceased have described the death of their daughter as sad and painful, saying they have left her killers to God. Reacting to the death of their daughter, the bereaved parents said they have nothing to say or do regarding the loss of their child, but have decided to leave everything in the hands of God.
Speaking yesterday, the father, Mr. Emmanuel Garba, security personnel with Niger State Water Works Cooperation, said: “We can’t say or do anything, except to take it easy as an act of God. We have left all to God, we have decided to take it like that.”
On who brought back the body of his deceased daughter from Sokoto, he explained that he personally went and brought back Deborah’s body to be buried.
“I personally went and brought back the body of my daughter to enable me to bury my own child. This is because keeping her in the morgue will not return her back.
“When I got there, I met government officials and made them understand the need to allow me to take her back home and they agreed with me. When we got to the morgue, those in charge asked me to sign the necessary documents and I did. They released the body to me.
“I personally paid the sum of N120,000 to the driver out of many that refused to convey her back home and it is because of the condition of the body. Most drivers we approached all refused except one.”
Also, the mother of the deceased, Mrs. Alheri Emmanuel, said that Deborah was the second of seven children, adding that it was so sad to have lost her at such a young age, when they were relying on her to help support them in the future.
On her medical condition, she said she is stable now and discharged from the hospital, where she was admitted upon hearing the news of the gruesome murder of her daughter.
Amid tears, Mrs. Emmanuel said: “I have nothing to say, I am grateful to God and for your efforts. I have given God my heart and may God strengthen me. We have nothing to say.
“Because of what happened to me, I will no longer send my children to schools where so much money is involved. Because of her education, the education of some of her siblings suffered, as it is so difficult to care for them all at the same time. And, now things are difficult for us.”
The Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria, known in the Hausa language as Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi a Nijeria (TEKAN), consisting of over 15 denominations, has demanded justice for Deborah. TEKAN, in a statement in Jos, by its president, Rev. Caleb S. Ahima and General Secretary, Rev. Moses J. Ebuga, said the dastardly act must not be tolerated.
“We condemn this inhuman act in totality and in the strongest terms possible. We call on the Nigerian authorities to act decisively to bring those who committed this criminal act to face the full wrath of the law regardless of whoever is involved.
“The perpetrators should be dealt with to serve as a deterrent for future occurrence. We call on our members not to take laws into their hands but allow the authorities to act swiftly and appropriately,” the church said.
