An irate mob in Bauchi killed a man identified as Yunusa on Wednesday after he was accused of making blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad.
The incident occurred around 3:00 pm in Nasaru community in the Ningi local government area of the state.
An eyewitness, Umar Abubakar, told WikkiTimes over the phone that an argument had erupted between Yunusa and another individual, during which Yunusa made the alleged blasphemous remarks.
The argument quickly drew the attention of many people around the area.
“The victim was a member of Faira Islamic Sect. When he insulted the Prophet, some young men challenged him (Yunusa) to retract his statement, but he refused and even repeated it. That was when they started beating him,” Abubakar narrated.
According to another eyewitness who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of the tense situation said the police have rescued the accused to their outpost within the community before the mob overpowered the police and killed him.
“The man died at the police outpost in Nasaru. They later took his corpse to Ningi Police Division, he said, adding that “the police couldn’t control or prevent the mob.”
The witnesses did not explicitly tell WikkiTimes the blasphemous comments that led to the mob action.
Cases of Blasphemy
Making blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is very passionate issue in northern Nigeria that easily draws public rage.
In Sokoto State, a man accused of blasphemy got killed last year by an angry youths in the area.
In the same vein, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Debora Samuel was killed in 2022.
Many consider mob action as wrong which could lead to harming the innocent in some cases.
Others argue that absence of punishing people accused of blasphemy by the appropriate authorities often lead to people to jungle justice.
WikkiTimes’ efforts to speak with the Ningi LGA caretaker chairman, Hon Ibrahim Zubairu, for comments were unsuccessful as he didn’t pick calls. He is yet to reply messages sent to his number at the time of filing this report
The spokesman for the Police Bauchi State, SP Ahmed Muhammad Wakil, did pick up call from WikkiTimes to speak on the incident. He is similarly yet to respond to WhatsApp and text messages seeking comment.
