From Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto

A student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, (SSCOE) Sokoto has been killed after accused of blasphemy by her schoolmates.

A witness which was prior to the incident identified the deceased as Deborah Samuel who hailed from Kebbi State.

“She was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad (SAW), on Thursday, during a hot argument with her colleagues in school.” A source told Daily Sun.

Confirming the incident, Commissioner of Police, Kamaldeen Okunlola in a statement on Thursday said the deceased, a level two student was accused of making a social media post that blasphemed the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW).

He noted that the students forcefully removed the victim from the security room where she was hidden by the school authorities, killed her and burnt the building.

“The students banded together with miscreants and barricaded the Sokoto/Jega road. Upon receiving the information, the DC Operations led a team of policemen and all other operational commanders in the state to the school where the road was cleared and the situation was brought under control.

The Police Boss further confirmed that two students have been arrested in connection with the crime committed while “other suspects in the viral video on Twitter were spotted and will be nailed soon.”

Meanwhile, Sokoto State Government has announced the immediate closure of the state College of education over allegedly blasphemous statement credited to one of the students of the school.

According to the statement signed and addressed by the state Commissioner for information, Alhaji Isah Bajini Galandanci, directed the ministry of higher education and relevant security agencies in the state to commence investigations into the cause of the unfortunate incident.

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“It has come to the notice of Sokoto State Government, the unfortunate incident that took place at the Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), Sokoto in which a student of the college, lost her life.

“The government has ordered immediate closure of the college. The governor has also directed the Ministry of Higher education and relevant security agencies in the state to commence investigations into the remote and immediate causes of the incident and report back to Government”

It called on the people of the state to remain calm and maintain peace while assuring that the government would take appropriate actions on the findings of the investigations by the relevant authority.

Reacting, Bishop of Catholic Diocese, Most Revrd. Matthew Hassan Kukah in a statement personally signed condemned the killing and called on the authorities to ensure that all culprits were brought to book.

“We condemned this incident in the strongest terms and called on the authorities to investigate this tragedy and ensure that all the culprits were brought to book. This matter must be treated as a criminal act and the law must take its cause.

He however urged the Christians in the state to remain calm and pray for the repose of the deceased saying ” this is the only obligation we owe her.

Also, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has condemned the incident described it as “unjustifiable”. He however called on the security agencies to fish-out the perpetrators to face justice.

The Monarch also urged all to remain calm and ensure peaceful co-existence among people living in the state and nation at large.