A student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, (SSCOE) Sokoto has been killed after being accused of blasphemy by her schoolmates.
A witness identified the deceased as Deborah Samuel who hailed from Kebbi State.
A source told Cornerstonews that ;”She was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad (SAW), on Thursday, during a hot argument with her colleagues in school”.
Confirming the incident, the Sokoto State Commissioner of Police, Kamaldeen Okunlola, in a statement, yesterday, said the deceased, a level two student, was accused of making a social media post that blasphemed the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW).
He noted that the students forcefully removed the victim from the security room where she was hidden by the school authorities, killed her and burnt the building.
“The students banded together with miscreants and barricaded the Sokoto/Jega Road. Upon receiving the information, the DC Operations led a team of policemen and all other operational commanders in the state to the school, where the road was cleared and the situation brought under control.
The police boss further confirmed that two students have been arrested in connection with the crime while “other suspects in the viral video on Twitter were spotted and will be nailed soon.”
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Government has announced the immediate closure of the school over the incident.
A statement signed by the state Commissioner for information, Alhaji Isah Bajini Galandanci, directed the ministry of higher education and relevant security agencies in the state to commence investigations into the cause of the unfortunate incident.
He called on the people of the state to remain calm and maintain peace, while assuring that the government would take appropriate actions on the findings of the investigations by the relevant authority.
Reacting to the incident, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Revd. Matthew Hassan Kukah, in a statement he personally signed, condemned the killing and called on the authorities to ensure that all culprits were brought to book.
He, however, urged Christians in the state to remain calm and pray for the repose of the deceased, saying, “this is the only obligation we owe her.”
Also, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has condemned the incident which he described as “unjustifiable”. He, however, called on the security agencies to fish-out the perpetrators to face justice.
