As part of the fallout of the killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto for alleged blasphemy, rioters on Saturday attacked some churches under the jurisdiction of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto overseen by Bishop Matthew Kukah.
At least two churches have been attacked, spokesperson of the diocese Rev. Fr Christopher Omotosho told PUNCH.
The affected churches, Omotosho said, are Holy Family Cathedral on Bello Way and St Kelvin Gidan Dere, Eastern Bypass.
The rioters burnt the gatehouse of one of them and set a bus ablaze in the compound. The second church was vandalised by the hoodlums, said Omotosho.
The spokesperson, however, noted that “Bishop Kukah is fine”.
The fracas began on Saturday morning when hundreds of protesting Muslim youths demanded the release of two suspects in police custody over the killing of Ms Samuel.
Peoples Gazette reports that Kukah told the platform he was on his way out of Sokoto at the time of the riot.
The clergyman, who has been a voice for religious tolerance, on Thursday called for justice for Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was set ablaze within the university for alleged blasphemy.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal has imposed a curfew in Sokoto metropolis to calm tension.
His counterpart in Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai banned religious protests in the state. According to him, the state got intelligence that there are plans to hold a “series of for-and-against protests” related to the unfolding event in Sokoto.
