₦airaland Forum

Mob burns Nigerian woman to death for alleged blasphemy.

Chris Ewokor BBC News in Abuja

A woman has been burnt to death by a mob in northern Nigeria's Niger state after she was accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad, police have said.

Police condemned the killing of the woman - identified in local media as a food vendor named Amaye - as "jungle justice", saying that an investigation was under way to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

Local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying a man jokingly proposed marriage to the vendor, and her response was considered blasphemous by some people in the area.

"Unfortunately, it led to a mob attack, and [she] was set ablaze before a reinforcement of security teams could arrive at the scene," state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said.

He appealed to members of the public to remain calm and not to take the law into their own hands following the killing on Saturday in Kasuwan-Garba town.

Such killings are not uncommon in northern Nigeria, where blasphemy is regarded as a criminal offence under Islamic (Sharia) law, which operates alongside secular law in 12 mainly Muslim states.

Rights group Amnesty International said that blasphemy was often "weaponised to settle personal scores" in northern Nigeria.

A minor disagreement or argument, often "deliberately orchestrated", leads to accusations of blasphemy, "and then the mob lynches the accused instantly", it said.

At least two other people have been lynched over such accusations in the last three years, with critics pointing out that not enough is being done to prevent the killings that have targeted both Muslims and Christians.

In 2022, student Deborah Samuel was beaten and burned alive in Sokoto state after being accused of making blasphemous comments.

Last year, a butcher, Usman Buda, was stoned to death in the same state under similar circumstances.

Though Nigeria's constitution upholds freedom of speech, the country remains deeply divided on matters of faith and justice.

Nigeria's Supreme Court has in the past ruled that blasphemy allegations must be proven in a court of law.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y21zxyd6mo

Muslim Muslim ticket.

Nothing new.

Nothing will happen.

Same cycle will repeat itself.

The difference is that it happens far more often in the North and their religion sanctions it

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

I am yet to hear of a case to do with Christians killing over blasphemy againt their God.

You cannot compare killings by Christians commited over superstitious fear, which is rare and condemned in the South anyway and will be punished severely, to killings over blasphemy in the North that is common, casually endorsed/approved by most Northerners at all levels of society and therefore goes unpunished.

Two very seperate things. Kill in the South over religion and you will be arrested, charged for murder in a competent Court of law and jailed.

Same occurrence in over-religious North, where the view that killing in defence of Islam is just and fitting, carries no consequences for the offender. That is wrong and condemnable.

The North must criminalise the practice, as is the case with the South , and I believe you should understand the need to respect the sanctity of human life must be consistent across Nigeria otherwise it is a good case for the North and South to be seperate nations.

Different people and regions of a nation should not have separate and contradictory viewpoint over fundamentally important issues such as societal endorsement of what is universally condemnable i.e casual killings of our fellow human beings.
.

WizardOfNG:
I am yet to hear of a case to do with Christians killing over blasphemy againt their God.

You cannot compare killings by Christians commited over superstitious fear, which is rare and condemned in the South anyway and will be punished severely, to killings over blasphemy in the North that is common, casually endorsed/approved by most Northerners at all levels of society and therefore goes unpunished.

Two very seperate things. Kill in the South over religion and you will be arrested, charged for murder in a competent Court of law and jailed.

Same occurrence in over-religious North, where the view that killing in defence of Islam is just and fitting, carries no consequences for the offender. That is wrong and condemnable.

The North must criminalise the practice, as is the case with the South , and I believe you should understand the need to respect the sanctity of human life must be consistent across Nigeria otherwise it is a good case for the North and South to be seperate nations.

Different people and regions of nation should not have separate and contradictory viewpoint over fundamentally important issues such as societal endorsement of what is universally condemnable i.e casual killings of our fellow human beings.
.

Well said.

The North and South of Nigeria are two regions with entirely different ideology, religion and people.... completely different, It's sad.

WizardOfNG:
I am yet to hear of a case to do with Christians killing over blasphemy againt their God.

You cannot compare killings by Christians commited over superstitious fear, which is rare and condemned in the South anyway and will be punished severely, to killings over blasphemy in the North that is common, casually endorsed/approved by most Northerners at all levels of society and therefore goes unpunished.

Two very seperate things. Kill in the South over religion and you will be arrested, charged for murder in a competent Court of law and jailed.

Same occurrence in over-religious North, where the view that killing in defence of Islam is just and fitting, carries no consequences for the offender. That is wrong and condemnable.

The North must criminalise the practice, as is the case with the South , and I believe you should understand the need to respect the sanctity of human life must be consistent across Nigeria otherwise it is a good case for the North and South to be seperate nations.

Different people and regions of nation should not have separate and contradictory viewpoint over fundamentally important issues such as societal endorsement of what is universally condemnable i.e casual killings of our fellow human beings.
.

I did that on purpose because aiming at the context which is you will never find Muslims killing anyone by alledging that they are witches. It is a Christian beliefs that is very historical even in far Europe let alone Africa. Such is rampant in the Southern part of the country that is predominantly Christian. Pay more attention.

WizardOfNG:
I am yet to hear of a case to do with Christians killing over blasphemy againt their God.

You cannot compare killings by Christians commited over superstitious fear, which is rare and condemned in the South anyway and will be punished severely, to killings over blasphemy in the North that is common, casually endorsed/approved by most Northerners at all levels of society and therefore goes unpunished.

Two very seperate things. Kill in the South over religion and you will be arrested, charged for murder in a competent Court of law and jailed.

Same occurrence in over-religious North, where the view that killing in defence of Islam is just and fitting, carries no consequences for the offender. That is wrong and condemnable.

The North must criminalise the practice, as is the case with the South , and I believe you should understand the need to respect the sanctity of human life must be consistent across Nigeria otherwise it is a good case for the North and South to be seperate nations.

Different people and regions of nation should not have separate and contradictory viewpoint over fundamentally important issues such as societal endorsement of what is universally condemnable i.e casual killings of our fellow human beings.
.

Exactly my point. #bolded. The context of killings in the name of religion differs. I stated this from the very onset. You just need to pay more attention. It is very rampant more than to think in the Southern dominated Christians.

Softmirror:
I did that on purpose because aiming at the context which is you will never find Muslims killing anyone by alledging that they are witches. It is a Christian beliefs that is very historical even in far Europe let alone Africa. Such is rampant in the Southern part of the country that is predominantly Christian. Pay more attention.

I think you are the one not paying attention. The central issues is that premeditated murder, on any ground is wrong and must be condemned consistently across Nigeria. This is the case in Southern Nigeria.

In the North, highlighting an area we are not tackling unitedly and you seemingly make excuses for here, religion creates a gray areas for a nation that wishes to succeed by hosting a people who have homogeneity of ideas regarding sacrosanct consideration.

For any crime committed by man, only a court should be allowed to decree the punishment of death. Never man in a summary execution. That is how it works in civilised nation.

Mentioning Christians committing murder over superstitious belief is merely playing to the gallery on your part because, per the central issue of fundamentalist and religion-related killing, such is condemned and punishable by law across the South in Nigeria. 💯%.

In the South, what you kill for does not matter as the law insists you must and will be punished for the offence.

The same does not hold for the North where killing in defence of Islam is seen as just and fitting punishment for blasphemy to then create a system disdainful of the common laws of a nation all citizens are obligated to respect.

This means a nation that should be one is hosting two contrasting opinion over the gravest crime a man can commit. I.e taking the law into his own hand to execute another.

You are educated. Killing for Christianity in the South will not shield you from punishment. The opposite is the case in the North and it is time Nigerians task the North to fall in line and stop acting as if religion is an excuse for them to commit serious offences contravening the common laws of a Nation they belong to.

These are issues, if progressive, the likes of Atiku, El Rufai, SLS, Ndume, Datti Baba-Ahmed and so many other Northerners, alway loquacious about politics and power, should tackle and bring clarity to.

No gray area, or tacit endorsement, over taking the life of another in the South. Same must apply to the North without religion being allowed to be exoneration for what is the worst crime in life.

There always uncomfortable conversation citizens of nations must have, regarding fundamentally crucial issues for the betterment of their nation.

Americans even opposed each other, leading to a civil war, because some believed slaves must be free men while others felt otherwise.

Your attempt at political correctness shows you don't understand this crucial consideration essential to building a truly United, progressive and peaceful nation.

Sometimes they carry out the act to please their peers and mentors and to settle personal grudge. It is possible she gives some of them food on credit or even subsidise their plate of food. Now they have killed her. I am sure their stomach is singing a different song now.
Until these idi.ots are arrested and charged this barbarism will continue.

Softmirror:
Exactly my point. #bolded. The context of killings in the name of religion differs. I stated this from the very onset. You just need to pay more attention. It is very rampant more than to think in the Southern dominated Christians.

Stop going around in circles and irritatingly. I have made my point crystal clear.

Ritual killing is common in the South. Even in my native South West. Yet the right thing is being done to end it i.e the action of clamping down on it by making it a criminal offence that will be punished by the law.

So what if Christians killing in the name of religion is common in the South according to you? Is the society and law in the South tacitly supportive of those guilty of the offence, as if they have done good, to the extent they are not even apprehended, when they are known to law enforcement let alone punished as obtains in the North?

I have lived majority of my life in a western nation of the world where criminal action , such as murder, are uniformly punishable in the eyes of the law. If you are Pakistani living in the UK you cannot commit 'honour killing' and get away with it, because you daughter married a Christian, as would be the case in Pakistan.

Same as no Caucasian Christian fundamentalist can bomb a mosque in Birmingham or London and be sparred lengthy jail sentence because he is 'defending" Jesus.

That is the homogeneity of respecting common laws and thinking, over crucial consideration, that makes a people who are very different able to unite and build progressive nations and societies. .

If we do not have and cannot build that homogeneous respect for sacrosanct issues, all Nigerians must respect, regardless of religious, ethnic or cultural affiliation, then what hope for us building a great nation together?

Bro, you are better than this and tend to make sense most times here. Retrace your step and stop continuation of redundant talk to defend an argument you got wrong from the beginning because you wanted to play to the gallery with a very serious issue the North should be confronted with rather than indulged over as you are doing here.

ruzell86:
Well said.

The North and South of Nigeria are two regions with entirely different ideology, religion and people.... completely different, It's sad.

Absolutely. We must bridge that gap to then be under one constitution and common law or go our seperate ways before such happens violently and at huge cost to Nigeria and Nigerians.

It is only Southerners that can take the North to task and force the region to recognise that our constitution and laws are supreme to religion which should be private practice in any nation that is officially secular. For the absence of doubt I repeat it again that Nigeria is a secular nation and not an Islamic nation or Christian one exclusively.

Because of cowardice, ignorance, lack of exposure, absence of conviction and indifference, Southerners allow the North get away with what Moslems and Christians cannot get away with in most nations of the world with a considerable population of both.

We are a nation with many illiterate, unexposed, over-religious, superstitious and ignorant folks. This was same for many developed nations of the world in the past. They used to burn Witches at the stake in England in the past.

Yet the crucial difference is that, once formal education took a foothold in issues, those in the bolded category above were not continously indulged by nations like the UK.

They were forced to reform so that society can become better, more progressive and more developed to serve all citizens optimally.

Whether Christian kill in the South and Moslem do samein the North, in the name of religion, is not the issue. What is important is that killing on grounds of religion must be a criminal offence with serious punishment to include the death penalty.

This is the case in the South but not the North where religion is allowed to overshadow and subjugate Nigerian common laws.

How can we ever become a developed nation when we have not even conquered this fundamental disparity crucial to the success of nations?

This is why I am an unapologetic supporter of regional autonomy so we can all go and live as we desire in our regions with like-minded people.

WizardOfNG this was my very first comment. Where I said "it is sad" and that it is both ways. The end point is people get killed because of religiosity.

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

Another late Deborah Samuel again has happened because the perpetrators are never punished by a defective system that only encourages the killer to continue with the spree.

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

You can continue to wallow in your self delusional belief but the world truly knows who is the most violent as far religious persecution and martyrdom is concerned

People who Allah should be fighting for are now the ones fighting for Allah.
It shall never be well with lord luggard for this contraption called Nigeria.

WizardOfNG:
Stop going around in circles and irritatingly. I have made my point crystal clear.

Ritual killing is common in the South. Even in my native South West. Yet the right thing is being down to end it i.e the action of clamping down on it by making it a criminal offence that will be punished by the law.

So what if Christians killing in the name of religion is common in the South? Is the society and law in the South tacitly supportive of those guilty of the offence, as if they have done good, to the extent they are not even apprehended, when they are known to law enforcement let alone punished as obtains in the North?

I have lived majority of my life in a western nation of the world where criminal action , such as murder, are uniformly punishable in the eyes of the law. If you are Pakistani living in the UK them you cannot commit 'honour killing' and get away with it, because you daughter married a Christian, and get away with such as would be the case in Pakistan.

Same no Caucasian Christian fundamentalist can bomb a mosque in Birmingham or London and be sparred lengthy jail sentence because he is 'defending" Jesus.

That is the homogeneity of respecting common laws and thinking, over crucial consideration, that makes a people who are very different able to unite and build progressive nations and societies. .

If we do not have and cannot build that homogeneous respect for sacrosanct issues, all Nigerians must respect, regardless of religious, ethnic or cultural affiliation, then what hope for us building a great nation together?

Bro, you are better than this and tend to make sense most times here. Retrace your step and stop continuation of redundant talk to defend an argument you got wrong from the beginning because you wanted to play to the gallery with a very serious issue the North should be confronted with rather than indulged over as you are doing here.

Thank you for the response. The guy you quoted cannot be a normal person.

Allllllaahhhuuuu Akkkkbarrrrr

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Racoon:
You can continue to wallow in your self delusional belief but the world truly knows who is the most violent as far religious persecution and martyrdom is concerned

Racoon when you live with such religious people it is best to avoid unwanted consequences since you are very informed about who is more violent by not being inciteful.

This is just too bad. When will this nonsense stop for heaven's sake?

Local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying a man jokingly proposed marriage to the vendor, and her response was considered blasphemous by some people in the area.

What a way to die. Some people considered her unknown response blasphemous and booom, she waa killed.
Under a normal country, even though the deed has been done, those killers will be picked up randomly to prevent a conspiracy to frame the dead, interrogated to know the actual response of the dead woman, if it was true as claimed and seek to know who & who exactly found it blasphemous.
Sharia doesn't prevent normal police investigations from being conducted.

I was hoping this was not a recent news alas, this monstrosity of blasphemy strikes again.

I wonder how Nigeria as a country will curb this madness

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

Yeah no need to push the narrative down south.
The reality is that we cannot continue to overlook the glaring differences in how issues of religion and freedom of expression are treated across Nigeria. In the South, people generally enjoy freedom of speech because the law recognizes and protects it. A Christian, for example, would never organize or justify killing a Muslim on the grounds of blasphemy, because such actions would be condemned outright, and the law would not spare the perpetrators, no matter their position, pastor or otherwise.

In the North, however, it is a different story. Challenging Islamic practices or expressing contrary views is often met with instant mob violence, as though a separate law operates there. The tragic case of Rebecca’s murder is a clear example, everyone saw how ordinary people actively participated without fear of consequences. Sadly, many of those involved will likely go unpunished, even receiving support from community and religious leaders who see such acts as justified.

This imbalance raises a serious question: how can Nigeria truly be one nation if some regions uphold the constitution while others operate under a parallel set of customs and unwritten laws?

Religion of love and peace, Religion of blood and vengeance

Madness in the name of religionnnn. why fight for God or gods. Let God or his messengers fight for themselves.
When human do the work of God(gods) it becomes a problem. North have a lot of catch up to do .
They can burn a woman but bandits are having free day

This is how northern Nigeria brings disgrace to Nigeria, you hardly hear of positive exploits over here in the North unfortunately, always in the international news for the bad reasons.
The picture below depicts exactly how the educated Muslims pretend about these kinds of atrocities and their expected reactions.

They will say that the perpetrators do not represent Islam but take them to court and 50 Muslim lawyers will appear to defend them for free like we saw in Deborah's case in Sokoto and Bridget in Kano

The blasphemy they are alleging may even be a simple NO to the islamic proposal of marriage in the end. It is a matter of perspective.

grandiose4ever:
Thank you for the response. The guy you quoted cannot be a normal person.

It is about bias.

Let me ask you. Do you support homosexualism?! Will you be pleased if any of your children become one?! This is not a deflection, from the topic. But your very reaction will define if you are normal or not. WizardOfNG support homosexualism, so is he normal or abnormal?!

Softmirror:
It is sad, such trends by religiosity claiming lives. Muslims and Christians are guilty of this the context only differs.

Christians don't kill in the name of God, we know those who are always doing that