Two Catholic churches in the Sokoto metropolis were attacked by protesters demanding the release of two suspects arrested for the lynching of a student, Deborah Samuel, for alleged blasphemy.
Residents of the areas confirmed the attacks on the two churches, but said reports that they were set on fire were false.
A prominent Catholic cleric, Hassan Kukah, whose church was allegedly burned, also told PREMIUM TIMES that the news of the attack on his church had been exaggerated.
He promised to release an official statement about the incident as soon as possible.
The churches attacked
At the Santa Fátima Catholic Church on Ahmadu Bello Street, the youths smashed windows and doors, while a vehicle belonging to the community parked inside the church was also vandalized.
At St. Kelvin Catholic Church in the Gidan Dare area, protesters destroyed some church materials and vandalized 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 young people were there, I could see them from our office. They entered the church and started smashing things and almost set it on fire because they had burnt tires outside the church on the road, but the soldiers and mobile police stopped them,” he said.
Sokoto police spokesman Sanusi Abubakar did not respond to calls or text messages sent to him on Saturday night.
Protest
PREMIUM TIMES reported how dozens of Sokoto residents protested Saturday over the arrest of two suspects believed to be involved in Ms. Samuel’s murder.
His assassination has been condemned by many Nigerians, including President Muhammadu Buhari, the Sultan of Sokoto, and the Christian Association of Nigeria.
The protesters blocked motorists entering or leaving the Kanwuri area, which led to the sultan’s palace, while others took the road leading to the government house. They carried banners with various inscriptions, including: “Please free our friends”, “Free and free”. our brothers, we are Muslims, not terrorists”, “Muslim is not a terrorist” (sic), among others.
An area resident, Usman Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES by phone that the protest was initially peaceful but later turned violent.
Two feared dead
A resident who witnessed the protest told PREMIUM TIMES that two of the protesters were killed by security agents trying to control the situation. However, this newspaper has not been able to confirm the deaths.
Sadiq Abubakar said that the protesters who were shot were carried away by other protesters.
To control the situation, the Sokoto state government has declared a 24-hour curfew in the state.