Alleged Blasphemy: Magistrate remands suspects in correctional centre, as 34 lawyers represent them in court

The Magistrate Court sitting in Sokoto has remanded two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci  in a correctional centre over their alleged roles in the lynching and killing a Christian student, Deborah Samuel over alleged blasphemy, as 34 lawyers appeared for defendants.

Penpushing reports that, the police prosecutor, Khalil Musa while presenting the suspects before the court, explained that the duo led the mob that killed the lady who was until her gruesome murder was student of  Shehu Shagari College of Education.

The prosecutor who told the court that the suspects were colleagues of the deceased in the college, asked the magistrate to give more days for the prosecuting team to conclude its investigations before presenting its findings to the court.

Penpushing further reports that, 34  lawyers led by Prof Mansur Ibrahim representing the suspects, pleaded with the magistrate to grant the suspects bail, quoting sections 157, 161(a,f) and 164 of the administration of criminal justice law of Sokoto State, as well as 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

The magistrate, however, refused to grant bail to the defendants and asked them to be taken to a correctional centre, and told the lawyers that they would be informed of the new date for the continuation of the hearing.

Penpushing also reports that, the deceased, a student of the Department of Early Childhood Education in the college, was accused of blasphemy against Muhammad, a Muslim prophet, in a voice note she sent on her class WhatsApp group.

The school security operatives attempted to rescue her when she was being pursued by the mob, but to no avail, as the irate students burnt down the security facility where the late student was being kept.

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