Nigerians Seek The Whereabouts of Deborah Emmanuel's Killers A Year Later After She Was Murdered Over Blasphemy

Deborah Emmanuel

Deborah Emmanuel, a female student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State, was murdered by Islamic fanatics on May 12, 2022, in response to accusations of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed.

The 200-level student was burned alive allegedly for telling her peers not to share religious stuff to their WhatsApp group, which had been put up for educational purposes.

On all social media sites, there was widespread sharing of a video showing the kid being stoned and beaten with sticks by her Muslim schoolmates before being set ablaze.

Two individuals were detained in connection with Deborah's murder, according to an announcement made by the Sokoto State Police Command a few days after the sad tragedy that nearly set the nation on fire.

The suspects in the murder, Bllyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, appeared in court on May 16 for their suspected involvement in the crime.

A total of 34 attorneys, including Professor Mansur Ibrahim, stormed the court to defend the alleged murderers. They were supposedly supported by several well-known individuals.

Remember that DSP Sanusi Abubakar, the Police Public Relations Officer, said in a statement on August 28 that those arrested were not the main suspects and that they were simply some of the people who planned the disturbance.

When the investigation was finished, he pledged that the command would find all the probable murderers.

The main suspect, who boasted in the video of having incited the mob to lynch the young girl, is still at free a year after the incident, though.

A Catholic priest, Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, urged the state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Nigeria Police Force to inform Nigerians of what had happened to the accused in a post on his official Facebook page on Thursday.

He wrote, "I am asking the Governor of Sokoto, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, please sir, where are the killers of Deborah? Have you found them? Where did you keep them? What did you do to them?

"I am asking President Muhammadu Buhari, where are the killers? Are they invisible? Have they been arrested?

"And to the Nigeria Police Force, what has happened to the swiftness you normally employ in arresting people who make posts on social media you consider inciting and divisive? What did you do to the killers of Ms Deborah? Where are the killers?"

This comes in the wake of claims that even the two suspects who were remanded at the Sokoto Correctional Center in May 2022 may have been sent free.

Yesterday, Mr. Joseph Adejor, an on-air personality, also hinted to our correspondent that "there may be something fishy about how the case died silently."

"The question is, have they been able to arrest the prime suspect? After the incident, there were reports that the murderer fled to Niger Republic, have they traced him to that country?

"Like my friend always says, Nigeria is just a joke. A human being was burnt to death and nothing happened to the suspects. You remember how a popular politician condemned the incident and later deleted the post. I doubt if those two suspects that they managed to arrest were not freed later," he lamented.

"The police as an institution, when we charge a case to the court, it is left for the judge to determine whether the suspect is found guilty or not.

"Our duty as police agency is to conduct investigation, and charge the suspect to court. It is now in the hands of the court to determine the end.

"We as a police, we have played our part. It is now left for the judiciary to do the necessary."

However, DSP Sanusi Abubakar, the Sokoto Police Command's spokesperson, told DAILY POST on Thursday that the command has contributed by bringing the accused before a judge.

He stated: "The police as an institution, when we charge a case to the court, it is left for the judge to determine whether the suspect is found guilty or not.

"Our duty as police agency is to conduct investigation, and charge the suspect to court. It is now in the hands of the court to determine the end.

"We as a police, we have played our part. It is now left for the judiciary to do the necessary."

When questioned about the claims that some of the suspects had been released, the PPRO responded, "If there is any allegation that the suspects have been freed, I think only the judiciary is in the position to answer that."