A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) under the umbrella of State of Emergency GBV Movement, on Friday, demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of those that participated in the lynching of a female student in Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, over the allegation of blasphemy.
Ms Samuel, a 200 level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was on Tuesday violently murdered by an angry mob that accused her of blasphemy against Muhammed, a prophet of Islam.
The mob said the late Ms Samuel shared a voice note on a WhatsApp group belonging to her classmates, reacting to a religious message shared by one of the classmates.
The voice note, spoken in the Hausa language, was described by the mob as derogatory to the prophet of God.
CSOs’ reaction
The civil societies in a press statement on Friday described the mob action as barbaric, despicable, and criminal.
They added that the conduct contravenes the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution “that uphold the right to life and mandates all citizens to respect the rights and dignity of others.”
The coalition comprises Invictus Africa, TechHerNG, Yiaga Africa, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, Connected Development (CODE), Stand To End Rape Initiative, YouthHubAfrica, Education as a Vaccine, Enough is Enough Nigeria, and SilverChipFox Consulting Service.
The statement, which was jointly signed by the members of the coalition, read in part: “Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria”.
The groups further noted that the Nigerian Constitution, described as the supreme law, does not recognise blasphemy.
They, therefore, advised whoever may feel offended or that their right to freedom of religion and belief has been violated, to seek redress from the courts and not resort to “jungle justice.”
The groups said such crimes when they go unpunished exacerbate the degenerating security situation in the country, “and lack of safety of women and girls in higher institutions particularly as girls account for 60 per cent of the nation’s out-of-school children, one of the highest in the world.”
“Allowing this injustice by a depraved criminal mob to go without prosecution and punishment will enable anarchy in our system and further shred the fabric of our humanity as Nigerians.
“We, therefore, call on law enforcement agencies to swiftly apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators, whose faces are identifiable in the now-viral gruesome video”, the CSOs said in a statement.
They asked that swift and commensurate justice must be served to “deter future occurrences of the crime.”
The CSOs also called on the Nigerian government, the legislators, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, and security agencies to be “loud and unambiguous in their condemnation of the gruesome murder”.
Backstory
Since the viral video was released, the Sokoto State Police Command said it arrested two suspects in connection with the dastardly act.
Also on Thursday, the Sokoto sultanate council, the state’s traditional institution, condemned the act.
Also, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal met with Christian leaders and heads of security agencies in the state over the matter.
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