A few days ago, news broke out of a Nigerian level 200 university student who was beaten to death and burnt by people alleged to be her Muslim coursemates with claims she spoke “blasphemy” about the Prophet Mohammed (SAW). A good Samaritan did well covering the whole incident on camera, she was running for her dear life while they stoned her continuously till she lost consciousness and eventually burned her body.
The video captured the face of a particular culprit who is believed to have set her on fire. The police on Monday arraigned two suspects namely, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, over the lynching of Deborah Samuel on May 12, with the defense team boasting of 34 lawyers.
A mob of Muslim extremists comprising colleagues and co-students of the deceased, lynched Ms. Samuel over alleged blasphemy, sparking nationwide outrage by Nigerians.
The suspects were docked at a Sokoto Chief Magistrate’s Court for their alleged participation in the crime. They pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Prosecuting inspector, Khalil Musa, told the court that an investigation was in progress as Ms. Samuel’s corpse was still in a morgue at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
Leading a team of 34 lawyers, the defense counsel, Mansur Ibrahim, applied for their bail on liberal terms citing constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
“The trial judge (name withheld for security reasons) reserved ruling on the bail application and ordered the accused to be remanded at a correctional center”.
“Before she was lynched, Ms. Samuel, a 200-Level Home Economics student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was accused of denigrating Islam on a school WhatsApp chat platform set up by her coursemates”.
“A violent street protest by Islamic extremists followed the arrest of suspects linked to the lynching of Ms. Samuel as the protesters demanded their release by security operatives”.
”Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto consequently imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state metropolis on Saturday, relaxing the curfew on Monday to be observed from dusk to dawn”