Kamogelo Olaitan
Two Catholic churches were attacked in Sokoto city in Nigeria over the weekend, Nigerian media reports.
The attacks came after suspects were arrested following the brutal murder of a Catholic student, Deborah Samuel. The suspects are Muslim.
The protesters blockaded roads on Saturday, holding placards with various messages that said “Please, release our friends”, “Release and free our brothers, we’re Muslim not terrorists”, “Muslim is not a terrorist”, among others.
Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College, was stoned to death and her body burnt, allegedly by a mob of Muslim students. The mob accused her of making blasphemous comments about Prophet Mohammed on social media.
Windows and doors of the Holy Fatima Catholic Church were smashed and cars belonging to church members were pelted with stones.
Protesters destroyed some materials in the St Kelvin Catholic Church in the Gidan Dare area and vandalised shops around the church.
A resident of the area, Ishaq Abdullah, said the protest was peaceful at first but turned violent.
“The youths went into the church and started vandalising things and nearly set it ablaze because they had burning tyres outside the church on the road but soldiers and mobile policemen stopped them,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the murder and said no person had the right to take the law into their own hands.
“The killing of the young lady by fellow students was a matter of concern. I demanded an impartial, extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident. Violence has not and never will solve any problem,” the president’s tweet read.
Sokoto police spokesperson Sanusi Abubakar confirmed that two students were arrested for Samuel’s murder.
Samuel was laid to rest on Saturday in her hometown in Tunga Magajiya.
