24 hours after, Buhari speaks on killing of Deborah Samuel

Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, has condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College Education, Sokoto, killed for making ‘blasphemous statements’ about Prophet Muhammad (SAW), on Thursday.

In a series of tweets via the presidency’s verified handle on Friday, Buhari demanded an impartial and thorough investigation into what happened before and during the incident.

“President Buhari said the news of the killing of the young lady by fellow students was a matter of concern and demanded an impartial, extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident,” the statement reads.

“President @MBuhari strongly condemns the resort to self-help by the mob in sokoto, resulting in violence, destruction and killing of a second year student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, following an allegation that she had blasphemed Muhammad (SAW), the Prophet of Islam on Thursday,” the presidency wrote on Friday.

“President Buhari said the news of the killing of the young lady by fellow students was a matter of concern and demanded an impartial, extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident.

“The President noted that Muslims all over the world demand respect for the Holy Prophets, incl Isah (Alaihissalaam, Jesus Christ) & Muhammad (SAW) but where transgressions occur, as alleged to be the case in this instance, the law does not allow anyone take matters into their hands.

“Moreover, religious leaders preach that it is not for the believer to judge the actions of another person. The constituted authority must be allowed to deal with such matters when they arise.

“No person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country. Violence has and never will solve any problem,” said the President.

“President Buhari also directed the Ministries of Information and Culture, Police Affairs and that of Communications and Digital Economy to work with GSM providers and Tech companies to help contain the spread of false and inflammatory information through social media.”

The president’s condemnation is coming a day after the incident happened. Although he called for a probe, he did not specifically state what he expected relevant law enforcement agencies to do.