Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, has condemned the killing of a female, Christian student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, in Sokoto.
According to the police, Deborah Samuel, a level-two student, was accused by some Muslim students of making a social media post that blasphemed the Muslim holy prophet Muhammad. The police said the students forcefully removed the Deborah from the security room where she was hidden by the school authorities, killed her and burnt the building.
“I have just received with deep shock the news of the tragedy that occurred in the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, leading to the gruesome murder of Ms Deborah Yakubu, a 200 level Home Economics student, today.”
Bishop Kukah condemned “this incident in the strongest terms and call on the authorities to investigate this tragedy and ensure that all the culprits are brought to book. The only obligation that is owed her immediate family, her fellow students and the school authorities is the assurance that those who are guilty of this inhuman act, no matter their motivation, are punished according to our extant laws of the land. This has nothing to do with religion. Christians have lived peacefully with their Muslim neighbours here in Sokoto over the years.”
He called on the security agencies to prosecute and treat “this matter… as a criminal act and the law must take its cause. Meanwhile, I wish to call on all Christians in Sokoto and around to remain calm and to please pray for the repose of the soul of Ms Deborah. It is the first obligation that we owe her.”
USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com news index show that the social media and faith groups are commenting and calling on Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to deal with the culprits with decisively.
