A 24-hour curfew has been declared in Sokoto, Nigeria, after protesters took to the streets demanding the release of two suspects in the murder of a Christian student last week.
Deborah Samuel was beaten and burned by Muslim students who accused her of posting “blasphemous” statements about Islam in a WhatsApp group on Thursday.
Her death has been widely condemned by Muslims and Christians across Nigeria.
On Saturday, demonstrators burned tyres and the police fired teargas.
Some of the protesters besieged the palace of the Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and the highest spiritual figure among Muslims in Nigeria.
The Sultan has condemned the killing at Shehu Shagari College of Education and demanded those involved face justice.https://buy.tinypass.com/checkout/template/cacheableShow?aid=tYOkq7qlAI&templateId=OTBYI8Q89QWC&templateVariantId=OTV0YFYSXVQWV&offerId=fakeOfferId&experienceId=EXAWX60BX4NU&iframeId=offer_0e763acc7b457c03340a-0&displayMode=inline&widget=template&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com
Announcing the curfew, Sokoto Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal urged the protesters: “Please, in the interest of peace go back home.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most-populous country and most people in its mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south are deeply religious.
Religious tensions and deadly clashes are not uncommon, particularly in the north where some states have adopted strict sharia laws, including death sentences for blasphemy.
Blasphemy in Islam includes the mocking or disparaging of attributes of the religion as well as denying any of its fundamental beliefs.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned Ms Samuel’s killing and said there should be an impartial investigation.
Nigeria’s largest grouping of Christian churches has demanded the authorities bring the culprits to justice.
Latest Stories
- Today’s front pages: Thursday, June 1, 2023
34 mins - OMCs start increasing fuel prices; Goil selling a litre of petrol, diesel for ¢12.45
1 hour - Nigeria’s fuel subsidy: How the new president has shocked the nation
3 hours - Debt ceiling deal: US House overwhelmingly passes bill
3 hours - The Truman Show: Has a film ever predicted the future so accurately?
3 hours - Doctor fired for prescribing ice cream and video games to child with sore throat
3 hours - Ukraine war: Children die in new missile attack on Kyiv
3 hours - IMF should ask government how it has managed natural resources – Dr. Ashigbey
3 hours - Why the ‘back-up career’ is moving further out of reach
4 hours - People of Bawku admonished to give peace a chance
5 hours - Tano River more polluted than it was a year ago – Erastus Asare Donkor
5 hours - US actor Danny Masterson found guilty on two rape counts
5 hours - Lower rate of Early Warning System implementation in Africa is a concern – Ursula Owusu-Ekuful
6 hours - Government is emboldening illegal miners – Dr Pelpuo
6 hours - Resurgence of galamsey a testament of government failure – Dr. Pelpuo
6 hours