SOKOTO State Governor Aminu Tambuwal is set to reopen the Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), where irate youths stoned Deborah Yakubu to death in May.
Receiving a report from a committee set up by the state government to investigate the incident on Tuesday, the governor directed the governing council of the college to convene a meeting to reopen the institution as soon as possible.
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He noted that the decision became imperative after he had heard from several stakeholders and leaders in the state about the need for the college to reopen.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Muhammad Bello, the governor assured the state that the government would implement the committee’s recommendations.
He said doing so would prevent future recurrence in the affected college and all tertiary institutions in the state.
Deborah, a 200-level Home Economics student, was lynched, killed and burnt by a mob of Muslim youths who accused her of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) on a students’ social media group.
Her killing attracted global outrage and condemnation.
An indigene of Tungan Magajiya, Rijau Local Government, Niger State, Deborah was the eldest of her parents’ eight children.
After her mother vowed that none of her remaining seven children would ever go to school again, the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM), Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, relocated her family from the North to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he gave the family a befitting home and scholarship for the children.
A court in Sokoto State has remanded two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, arrested by the police in connection with the crime.
No less than 34 lawyers are defending the suspects.
Meanwhile, governor Tambuwal has urged the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to find common ground towards ending its nearly six-month-old strike.
“No issues are beyond resolution. In the interest of our children and our country, we must find common ground,” he advised.
He urged the Federal Government and ASUU to reach a compromise over the stalemate on the latter’s demands.
The governor appealed to the local chapter of the ASUU of Sokoto State University, which is involved in the strike, to reconsider its position.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2022. Contact him via email @ [email protected].