Chaos ensued on Saturday in parts of Sokoto when some alleged Muslims took to the streets to protest the arrest and detainment of two suspects in the murder of Deborah Yakubu Samuel who was stoned to death and lynched on Thursday for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
According to reports, the rioters also attacked churches along the Ahmadu Bello Way in the state capital. These churches included a building belonging to the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and an unnamed Catholic church. Also included in the destructions were kiosks and shops which belonged to Igbos and other south-eastern indigenes.
The protests eventually died down at around 3 in the afternoon with the Governor, Aminu Tambuwal placing a 24-hour curfew on the state. What hasn’t fizzled away is the tensions sweeping the country over the case. Nigerians are still exchanging hot debates on social media as of the time of writing and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on its members to begin a peaceful protest nationwide to ensure that the killers of Deborah Samuel were brought to book.
The remains of the late student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education have been laid to rest in her hometown of Tungan Magajiya in the Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State. Even more, incidents serve to stir up the pot. Allegedly as the body was on its way home an official of the Sokoto state government called and said that the body belonged to the government and should be returned. It was then discovered that the government had earlier asked that the body be interred at the mortuary pending the time it completed its investigations. The parents disagreed and moved the body, leading to the current cconflict.
