SaharaReporters learned that the mob that lynched Deborah Samuel were composed of students and some "foreigners” hired by the extremists to carry out the attack.
On the 12th of May 2022, a 200-level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel was gruesomely killed by her fellow students who accused her of blaspheming Prophet Muhammad.
SaharaReporters learned that the mob that lynched Deborah Samuel were composed of students and some "foreigners” hired by the extremists to carry out the attack.
A few months after the tragedy, the Nigeria Police Force, Sokoto State Police Command, stated that its personnel were committed to finding the killers of Deborah Samuel.
The command's spokesman, DSP Sanusi Abubakar, indicated that those arrested were not the primary culprits, but rather behind a riot within the Sokoto metropolis in connection with the incident.
“Those ones we arrested then, though not the suspected killers, contributed to the violent riot and were arraigned in court where the judge ordered that they be remanded.
“Concerning those suspected killers, we have circulated their pictures to media houses and sent our intelligence to every part of the state,” he said.
DSP Abubakar stated that the command was still looking for them and was sure of apprehending them wherever they might be hiding, adding that they would flush them out and arraign them before a competent court of law.
He stated that the command would be impartial in the case, emphasising that the state police commissioner, Muhammed Gumel, would see that justice was done.
Despite a viral video showing the faces of some of those responsible for flogging, killing, and burning Deborah for alleged blasphemy, one year after, Nigerian authorities have yet to arrest or punish anyone in connection with this heinous crime, implying that the government has allowed this case to be swept under the rug, as it has in previous similar cases.
This is why Amnesty International and some Nigerian netizens continue to question why the government fails to carry out its constitutional duty of protecting the lives of its citizens.
Amnesty International argued in a press statement issued on Friday that if the Nigerian government fails to ensure thorough prosecution of Deborah's assassins, it will create an environment in which perpetrators of jungle justice will be able to take the law into their own hands.
Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to ensure that the killers of Deborah Yakubu over alleged blasphemy are brought to justice to prevent the creation of an environment in which violent mobs believe themselves entitled to take the law into their own hands.
The international group also expressed concern about the country's ongoing mob executions for purported blasphemy.
The statement reads: “A year after Deborah’s horrific lynching in Sokoto, it is clear that the failure to prosecute rigorously and promptly those responsible, leads to a climate of impunity that further endangers right to life.
“On 4 June 2022, Ahmad Usman, a 30-year-old member of a vigilante group, was killed in the Lugbe area of Abuja for alleged blasphemy. He was beaten and stoned to the point of losing consciousness. He was later set on fire by the mob.
“On 30 March 2021, Talle Mai Ruwa — a popular water vendor was beaten and burnt to death in the presence of his mother at Sade village in Darazo LGA of Bauchi state, over alleged blasphemy — after the angry mob overran the police station where he was being detained.
“The alarming uptick in blasphemy accusations underscores the urgency with which the authorities must wake up to Nigeria’s international legal obligations to respect and protect human rights, including freedom of religion, opinion and expression.”
A netizen known as Citizen Dama berated the key parties for failing to ensure effective prosecution of Deborah's attackers despite their faces being visible online where they were gloating in a video they released after the crime.
He said, “You guys talk as though the culprits/ hoodlums who murdered Deborah Yakubu are invisible. Hey! These guys made videos with their full faces and ears. Is this journalistic hypocrisy or what? They're untouchable as the "Sons of the father" in Aso-Rock. They'd get palliative soon.”
“So, the perpetrators of these mindless killings are allowed to roan the street as free men/women. Why is it that the Nigerian Police Force are helpless when it comes to these religious killings in the northern part of the country? Just don't understand,” another Twitter user, @Braingain wrote.
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