TWO students arrested in connection with the stoning, flogging, and brutal murder of a Christian student, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, at the Shehu Sagari College of Education, in Nigeria, on 12 May, have been charged only with “criminal conspiracy” and “disturbing the peace”, and were awaiting a bail application on Wednesday.
The human-rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said that local Christians had doubted whether anyone would ultimately face prosecution for her death, as unproven blasphemy allegations directed at members of the Christian community in northern Nigeria generally resulted in mob violence and extrajudicial killings, while the perpetrators enjoyed impunity.
Miss Yakubu was publicly accused by Muslim students at the college of blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad when she allegedly said on a WhatsApp group: “Jesus is the greatest. He helped me pass my exams.” The college was closed for the holidays when the comment was made. When Miss Samuel returned, fellow students dragged her from the building, stoned and flogged her, and set her body on fire.
An outcry has followed the murder. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, the Rt Revd Matthew Kukah, described it as a criminal and inhuman act that had nothing to do with religion. “The only obligation that is owed the late Deborah’s immediate family, her fellow students, and the school authorities is the assurance that those who are guilty of the inhuman act, no matter their motivation, are punished according to the extant laws of this land,” he said.
The World Council of Churches “strongly supports calls by Nigerian Christian leaders, the Sultan of Sokoto and many other leaders, for the perpetrators of this atrocity to be held accountable to the law”, the acting general secretary, the Revd Professor Ioan Sauca, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We appeal for justice for Deborah, and call upon the government and authorities of Nigeria to ensure that it is delivered.”
The RC charity Aid to the Church in Need decried this most recent act of violence. Its executive president, Thomas Heine-Geldern, said: “The levels of extremism and violence reached in Nigeria over the last few years are absolutely appalling. Hardly a week goes by without news of kidnappings and dozens of deaths, but this barbaric act leaves us speechless.
“The religious extremism we have become so familiar with under Boko Haram, and that has caused so many innocent victims, seems to have spread and polarised an increasingly large part of society. There is a serious religious liberty crisis, and it is not only caused by terrorists. The Nigerian government must reflect deeply on where this violence is dragging the country, and how it can defend the rights of all its citizens.”
Since 1999, 12 states in northern Nigeria have adopted sharia-based legal codes that operate in parallel with secular courts, something reported to have deepened the divisions in the country. The death in captivity of Fr Joseph Aketeh Bako, who was abducted on 8 March with two other priests, was confirmed the day before Miss Yakuba’s murder.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has called for the prosecution ofher killers. Its president, Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, called on all church leaders to organise a national peaceful protest on 22 May, demanding, “No more killings in God’s name” and justice for the murdered student.
Miss Yakuba was a member of the Evangelical Church Winning All, in Niger state, and belonged to the Fellowship of Christian Students. Release International, a charity that supports persecuted Christians around the world, declared itself “horrified and appalled”.
Its chief executive, Paul Robinson, said: “The cry of blasphemy, the murder, and the rioting reflect the growing climate of violence towards Christians, especially in the north of the country, where Nigeria has become a killing zone for Christians. We continue to call on the government of Nigeria to prevent this violence, and on the international community to press Nigeria to act immediately.”
A statement from CSW-Nigeria (CSWN) said: “The tragedy that should wake all people of good conscience in Nigeria is the fact that the stoning and burning happened within an academic environment that symbolises enlightenment, tolerance and civilisation.
“It should it be an environment that guaranteed her right to the secularity that the Nigerian constitution created for all. CSWN is worried that such a barbaric form of expression is gradually redefining that peaceful and harmonious culture of tolerance that the north is known for. And for such to stop happening, leaders must take the lead in sincerely addressing it so that Nigeria would continue to be home to all.”
The director of advocacy at the human-rights organisation Open Doors (UK and Ireland), Dr David Landrum, said: “The gruesome murder of the Christian girl Deborah is yet another evidence of the extreme vulnerability of Christians in Nigeria.”
Nigeria ranks seventh on Open Doors’ World Watch List 2022: an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.