By Michael Oche
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has demanded that justice should be served over what it described as “outrageous killing” of a female student, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, on May 12, 2022, at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State for alleged blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam, Prophet Mohammed.
The Forum in a statement signed by the national president of the forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, and released yesterday to news men in Abuja strongly condemned and called on President Muhammadu Buhari and relevant authorities to immediately halt the ugly trend in the North where Christians are killed by Islamic fanatics for alleged blasphemy in a secular country before the country is plunged into a religious crisis.
The group blamed “government’s inability or refusal to bring perpetrators to justice over previous killings of citizens” as reasons why many others are emboldened to perpetuate the unlawful act.
It therefore maintained that, “As a country governed by laws, there cannot be any justification in the killing without following due process”, adding that “Even in Islamic nations, there are processes for determining what constitutes blasphemy.
“When a mob simply puts to death someone they accuse of blasphemy, such an act amounts to criminality that has been encouraged by the state’s incapacity in bringing to book killers of people alleged to have committed blasphemy in the past.
“To demonstrate the fact that those who are engaged in killing Nigerians on account of alleged blasphemy enjoy overwhelming support, youths at the weekend poured into the streets of Sokoto demanding the release of suspects detained by the police over the killing of Deborah.
“While churches came under attacks, with looting and destruction unleashed by these youths, the Sokoto incident reveals the dour reality that our ability to remain united under a secular system is being tested.
