Why won’t the killings continue?, By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

Over the last week, I have stood bewildered watching from the frontlines as numerous gruesome developments unfolded on Nigeria’s heavily disturbing news headlines. And, as is customary, just days after a global social-media audience witnessed the lynching of a student, I have again watched haplessly as Nigerians allow the discourse on the matter to be swept to yonder seas.
I hate to be a prophet of doom. But I also love to embrace reality. Especially when such realities are so glaring and there is nothing meaningful to show that the situation might change quickly. This is why I have concluded that more Deborah Samuels will be killed in this lawless land. And they are not going to die because they don’t know how to keep their mouths shut or because they cross the redlines as some would have us believe; they are going to die because the states where these killings occur, don’t mind overseeing their gruesome murders.

More Deborah Samuels would die in Nigeria because their lives mean nothing to the governments in states where these murders occur. The governments are also not interested in making the perpetrators pay for their crimes. They are more interested in being politically correct and allowing the sleeping dog to just lie down.
Two things have emerged from Deborah’s case. Neither the government, nor the police are interested in pursuing the case. Otherwise, why would the Nigeria Police, Sokoto State Command, declare wanted the four principal suspects in the murder. These are people with known identities. They appeared in the viral video of the killing, and boasted about their action. Now the police want us to help them look for the killers?
Similarly, the two suspects allegedly involved in the incident who appeared at a Sokoto Chief Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday have also been charged with “Criminal Conspiracy and Inciting Public Disturbance.” Can you beat that? Deborah was stoned to death, her body was burnt and her murderers showed Nigerians the matches used to light the fire before she was burnt, yet they were not charged with murder. All that the Sokoto State government could do was to press charges of public disturbance of peace and act of criminality.
How do you check an evil when perpetrators are treated with kid gloves? Nigerian leaders have mastered the act of using religion to bamboozle the citizens. Some of them know what is right but they allow their followers to wallow in ignorance because of what they (the leaders) stand to gain. They will encourage their followers to beg for food in the name of Almajiri, justifying it as a cultural thing but will never allow their own children to be part of that begging culture. They will sanction kid marriage in the name of religion but send their own daughters abroad in pursuit of good education. They will allow murders in the name of religion because they need the perpetrators to keep voting for them in elections. The Sokoto government’s action has only confirmed the selfishness and the wickedness of the Nigerian political elite.

I have sought the permission of my colleague, Lasisi Olagunju, to use some of the past instances of killings in the name of God in his last article on Monday Lines titled, “The North’s tadpoles and Deborah Yakubu. The article had quite a few examples of people that were killed in the north for blasphemy.
There was a teacher, Christianah Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin, at Government Day Secondary School, Gandu, Gombe State, who was killed by her own students on Wednesday, March 21, 2007. She was accused of blasphemy. Like Deborah, she was flogged, stoned and her body set on fire-by her students. And up till now, nobody has been punished for her murder. Her husband, Michael, later in an interview, was to reveal that their 10-month-old baby would have been killed also but for the kind act of a Samaritan that smuggled him away while disguising in “Jelbab.” The house where the baby was being kept, was already surrounded by the mob that killed his mother who thought he didn’t deserve to live also.

A 24-year-old Adie Grace Ushang, graduate of Education Administration from the University of Calabar was killed in Borno State for wearing khaki trousers. She was from Obudu, Cross River State and was in Borno for her one-year compulsory national youth service in July 2009. By August 4, 2009, she was dead. Her killers “took offence because she was wearing her Khaki trousers – the official uniform of the youth service.”
I can relate to this very well. I was stoned in Gusau, Sokoto State for wearing an overall -jumpers. But for the swift action of my host that quickly took me back home, probably something worse could have happened. I never knew that I could be attacked for wearing something that covered all the parts of my body!
In June 2016, a plastics seller, Mrs Bridget Agbahwe, was also beheaded by a mob in Kano’s Wambai market. She was also accused of blasphemy. Her husband reportedly witnessed the mob slitting her throat. Unfortunately, in these cases, there are no records of anyone being punished for their actions.
From all indications, the murderers of Deborah will escape justice. Already 34 lawyers are representing just two suspects in court. And if they ever get punished, they are likely to get light sentences. The charges in court have shown us the likely outcome of this case. So, why won’t the killings continue?
Olabisi Deji-Folutile is editor-in-chief, franktalknow.com and member, Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: [email protected].

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