May 16, (THEWILL) – The Police in Sokoto State has arraigned two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, over last Thursday’s killing of Miss Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a 200-Level Home Economics student of Shehu Shagari College of Education.
THEWILL had reported that Yakubu was lynched by a mob, comprising mostly her co-students, over an alleged blasphemy.
The suspects, who are co-students of the deceased, were docked at a Sokoto Chief Magistrate’s Court for their alleged role in the crime.
They pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Prosecuting Inspector Khalil Musa told the court that investigation was in progress as the body of the deceased was still in a morgue at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
Leading a team of 34 lawyers, the defence counsel, Prof. Mansur Ibrahim, applied for their bail on liberal terms, citing constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The trial judge (name withheld for security reasons) reserved ruling on the bail application and ordered the accused to be remanded at a correctional centre.
Before she was lynched, Deborah Yakubu was accused of denigrating Islam in a statement she posted on a WhatsApp chat platform set up by her coursemates and refused to retract her post after she was asked to pull it down.
She had reportedly accused her coursemates of turning a WhatsApp group meant for academic discussions to a religious chat forum.
A violent street protest followed the arrest of suspects linked to the lynching of Yakubu. The protesters demanded the immediate release of the suspects.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal consequently imposed a 24-hour curfew on the Sokoto metropolis on Saturday. He relaxed the curfew on Monday to be observed from dusk to dawn.
