A Sokoto Chief Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, arraigned over the lynching of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State.
Ms Samuel was lynched on May 12 for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The suspects, who are Samuel’s co-students, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Police prosecutor Khalil Musa told the court that an investigation was in progress. He added that Samuel’s corpse was still in a morgue at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
However, Samuel was buried in her hometown in Niger State on Saturday. Her father said he paid N120,000 to transport her corpse to Niger as drivers were reluctant to carry her body.
Leading a team of 34 lawyers, the defence counsel, Prof. Mansur Ibrahim, applied for their bail on liberal terms, citing constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The trial judge (name withheld for security reasons) reserved the ruling on the bail application and ordered the accused to be remanded at a correctional centre.
A violent street protest followed the arrest of suspects linked to the lynching of Deborah as the protesters demanded their immediate release by security operatives.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal consequently imposed a 24-hour curfew on Sokoto metropolis on Saturday. He relaxed the curfew on Monday to be observed from dusk to dawn.
