Tobias Sylvester
President Muhammadu Buhari has strongly condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian female student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State.
KanyiDaily had reported how Deborah was beaten and burnt to death by her Muslim colleagues over alleged blasphemous remarks considered to be an insult to Prophet Mohammed.
In a WhatsApp chat, Deborah was head lamenting in Hausa language to a religious broadcast message sent by another student to her class WhatsApp group.
In a loose translation, she said: “This group was not created for you to be sending nonsense. It is for past questions, update about test or other school matters. Not the nonsense that you are posting about some prophet.”
Her comments were said to have irked some of her Muslim colleagues who felt she disrespected Prophet Mohammed, and threatened to deal with her.
Sources said the angry mob attacked her and then set her body ablaze after overpowering the school security personnel who tried to intervene in the matter.
A gory image and video clip of the incident sparked outrage on social media with many Nigerians calling on authorities to immediately bring the killers to book.
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Buhari Condemms Murder Of Deborah Samuel
Reacting in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president demanded an impartial extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident.
Buhari, who condemned Deborah’s killing, expressed concern that the mob took laws into their own hands instead of allowing the law to take its course on the matter.
The statement reads: “No person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country. Violence has and never will solve any problem.
“President Buhari also directed the Ministries of Information and Culture, Police Affairs, and that of Communications and Digital Economy to work with GSM providers and Tech companies to help contain the spread of false and inflammatory information through social media.
“The President extended the nation’s condolences to the family of the deceased student and wished all those injured a quick recovery.
“He commended the immediate response to the incident by the Sokoto State Government and urged religious and community leaders to call citizens’ attention to the need to exercise the right to freedom of speech responsibly.
“President Buhari called for tempered comments by the media and calm among the general population while investigation is ongoing to find out the remote and immediate causes of the incident.”
Buhari’s reaction comes after the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing called on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that the Deborah’z killers are brought to justice.
