FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar deleted social media statements condemning the brutal killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto on Thursday after some of his followers threatened his 2023 presidential ambition.
In the statement posted on both his Twitter and Facebook pages, Abubakar had said there was no justification for Deborah’s murder.
While offering condolences to the family of the deceased, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential hopeful added that Deborah’s murderers must be brought to justice.
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“There can not be a justification for such gruesome murder,” he said.
“Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind her death must be brought to justice.
“My condolences to her family and friends.”
However, the statements were pulled down after they elicited angry reactions from some of the former vice president’s followers, who criticised him for condemning the incident.
They threatened to withdraw their support for Abubakar’s presidential ambition.
The ICIR had reported how Deborah was mobbed and burnt to death at the Shehu Shagari College of Education over alleged blasphemy on Thursday.
Many Nigerians have expressed outrage over the killing.
The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, condemned the killing of the female student.
In a statement by Sa’idu Maccido, the Secretary of the Sultanate Council, the Sultan called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
He also urged the public to “remain calm and ensure peaceful co-exiatence among all people of the state and nation”.
The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto Matthew Kukah described the incident as criminal.
Kukah in a statement on Thursday asked relevant authorities to fish out the perpetrators and ensure justice was served on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Police Command said two out of the several suspects that participated in Deborah’s killing have been arrested.
You can reach out to me on Twitter via: vincent_ufuoma
Sincerely we’re very much backward in Nigeria.
The individuals that lynched Late Deborah were young people. It spurred my thoughts on the future that we so much believe will be better with *young people* at the helm of affairs. Even the case of *jungle justice* which I’ll call outright murder in Lagos was still *young people’s doings* , so what are we not saying? Religious fanatism, ethnocentricism and unwillingness to get better and come out of our dark shades has eaten too deep into our roots as a people.
The time is overdue that we should realize that The Nigeria of our dream was built by the zeal to get better, science and good leadership and not religion.
*Religion is meant to shape our morals and and make us better people, not to monsterfy us as humans.