Religion And Criminality In Nigeria:Three Years After Deborah Samuel Was Killed.
..Justice Not Well Served
Today, May 12, 2025, makes it three years since Ms. Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a second year Christian student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State, was lynched and stoned to death by a mob of Muslim students after she was accused of blasphemy against Islam.
She was accused of posting a blasphemous statement against the Holy Prophet Muhammad. She was alleged to have posted a comment on WhatsApp, criticizing the religion-related posts her Muslim classmates discussed in the study group she believed should have been reserved for academic purposes.
On 12 May 2022, Deborah was forcibly taken from the security room she was hidden in at the College. A cab had been waiting outside the school to escort her to safety at the police station but the mob seized her and went ahead to lynch her.
After stoning her to death, they set her corpse ablaze, burning the body beyond recognition while capturing the whole scenario on video which was later shared on social media.
A student who had witnessed the lynching recounted that Deborah’s last words were:
“What do you hope to achieve with this?”
Two students who were identified from the video were arrested in connection with the lynching.
They were charged with “Criminal conspiracy and incitement of public disturbance” without a mention of murder or culpable homicide in the charge sheet.
The offences the were charged with are bailable offences with a maximum of two year jail time.
They were defended by team of 34 lawyers led by a prominent lawyer, Prof. Mansur Ibrahim, and were subsequently acquitted by the court citing non-showing of prosecution lawyers.
They are walking free while Deborah’s family continues to mourn her death.
May her soul rest in peace.
Lekan Shobo Shobowale
Chairman, Nigeria Association of Christian Journalists, Oyo State