Sokoto protesters attack two churches as officials move to contain violence

Two Catholic churches in Sokoto metropolis have been attacked by protesters demanding the release of two suspects arrested over the lynching of a student, Deborah Samuel, for alleged blasphemy.
Residents of the areas confirmed the attacks on the two churches but said that reports that they were burnt down were false.
A prominent Catholic cleric, Hassan Kukah, whose church was allegedly burnt, also told PREMIUM TIMES that the news of the attack on his church had been exaggerated.
He promised to release an official statement on the incident as soon as possible.
The Attacked Churches
At Holy Fatima Catholic church on Ahmadu Bello way, the youth smashed windows and doors while a vehicle belonging to the community parked inside the church was also vandalised.
At the St Kelvin Catholic church in Gidan Dare area, the protesters destroyed some materials in the church and vandalised shops around the church.
A resident of the area, Ishaq Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the church “was saved by security agents.”
“Some of the youths were there, I could see them from our office. They went into the church and started vandalizing things and nearly set it ablaze because they had burning tyres outside the church on the road but soldiers and mobile policemen stopped them,” he said.

The Sokoto police spokesperson, Sanusi Abubakar, did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him Saturday evening.
The Protest
PREMIUM TIMES reported how scores of residents of Sokoto on Saturday protested the arrest of two suspects believed to be involved in Ms Samuel’s murder.

Her murder has been condemned by many Nigerians including President Muhammadu Buhari, the Sultan of Sokoto and the Christian Association of Nigeria.
The protesters blocked motorists going in or out of the Kanwuri area, leading to the Sultan’s palace while others took over the road leading to the government house.
They held placards with various inscriptions including: “Please, release our friends”, “Release and free our brothers, we’re Muslim not terrorists”, “Muslim is not a terrorist” (sic), among others.
A resident of the area, Usman Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone that the protest was initially peaceful but later became violent.
Two feared killed
A resident who witnessed the protest told PREMIUM TIMES that two of the protesters were killed by security officials trying to control the situation. This newspaper has, however, been unable to confirm the deaths.
Sadiq Abubakar said the protesters that were shot were taken away by other protesters.

To control the situation, the Sokoto State Government has declared a 24 hours curfew in the state.

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