Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a college student in Nigeria's Sokoto State, was accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad and subsequently stoned, beaten, and set aflame by a mob of her fellow students.
Deborah Samuel Yakubu was a Christian college student in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim Sokoto State. In May 2022, she was accused of blasphemy against Islam by fellow students over the content of posts she had made in a WhatsApp group. On Thursday, May 12, these accusations erupted in violence.
"There is a WhatsApp group being used by the students, and her Muslim colleague student posted an Islamic piece. She criticized the posting ... She composed an audio that contains blasphemous comments on the prophet of Islam and posted in the group. That is what triggered everything." - anonymous witness
A mob of Muslim students attacked Deborah, whereupon school authorities apparently ushered here into a "security room." The students, however, overcame both the school authorities and the police forces which had arrived to contain the situation. The mob was able to remove Deborah from the room in which she was secured and drive back police by throwing projectiles at them.
"The police sacrificed the lady after the students began throwing sticks and stones at them, then the students used stones and sticks to beat the lady. After being beaten, she was set on fire." - student at the school
Deborah was stoned and beaten before being set on fire by her fellow students. Video of the incident circulated online, showing the students celebrating after her body was set aflame.
The school was closed following the murder, and suspects identified in the video were arrested. The sultan of Sokoto also condemned the murder. Both of these events led to protests in the city of Sokoto as "Muslim youths" demanded the release of the arrested and expressed their displeasure with the sultan's condemnation of the killing.
Nigeria is a Muslim-majority country, though only narrowly, and nearly half of its inhabitants are Christians. The division between the two faiths manifests along geographical lines, with Muslims living mostly in the northern regions and Christians living mostly in the southern regions. Insults to religion in general are punishable for all citizens, while crimes more specific to Islam, including apostasy, are punished only in states that incorporate Islamic courts for their Muslim residents.