THE Bauchi State Police Command on Saturday said a woman accused of blasphemy in Warji Local Government Area of the state has been charged to court and is currently in prison custody.
The state Commissioner of Police Umar Mamman Sanda disclosed this in an interview with Punch.
Sanda noted the woman identified as Rhoda Jatau was accused of blasphemy in a message she distributed in a WhatsApp group that contained both Muslims and Christians.
READ ALSO:
FCT minister condemns Lugbe blasphemy killing
Abuja mob kills man over blasphemy
Claim that Sokoto govt approved death penalty law for blasphemy is FALSE
Blasphemy in Nigeria’s legal systems: an explainer
According to him, not less than six houses were burnt by some irate youths because of the message.
The CP further disclosed that the police stopped a mob of irate youths from lynching the woman.
“You see, once this type of thing comes up, you’ll have to be very careful and make sure that you do the needful as and when due. What happened was that a woman posted an article on a WhatsApp group that has both Christians and Muslims and before you knew it, tension mounted and there was a breakdown of law and order.
“She was arrested and immediately moved from Warji to Bauchi, to save her from the mob. We then went round to quell the disturbance and we thank God that we were able to arrest the situation and got the understanding of the people that what we did was the best in the circumstances.
“But before we were able to bring the situation under control, some houses and shops were torched and that’s the repercussion of this type of thing. On a general note, investigation has already been conducted; we’ve charged her to court, and she is now in the Correctional Service facility, awaiting trial,” he said.
When asked if some of the irate youths were also arrested, he only responded that the police investigation did not indicate that there were any other conspirators besides the lady.
“Well, our investigation did not indicate that some people were behind her; she did it by herself and there are no co-conspirators around her and therefore, we charged only her to court.”
You can reach out to me on Twitter via: vincent_ufuoma