The Terrible Injustice Of Mob Justice

 By Kenechukwu Obiezu

Nigeria’s seemingly unstoppable guillotine of mob justice has claimed yet another victim  with the brutal killing of Mr. Fwinbe Thomas Gofwan by a mob in Jos for stealing a car he owned, by all accounts. In Nigeria, the mob that has shown itself lurking and lethal in Sokoto State, the Federal Capital Territory, as well as Delta State usually moves with such lightning ferocity whenever there is a sacrifice to be made.

In May 2022, Deborah Samuel, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, had life brutally snuffed out of her by a mob in the state over a WhatsApp audio message. More than a year later, the police is yet to bring the culprits to book. History was to repeat itself in Sokoto State in June 2023 when Usman Buda, a butcher, was lynched by a mob over allegations of blasphemy, to further present Sokoto as the state where people are freely killed by feral mobs.

From Chibok Girls To Deborah: Any Lessons Learnt?

 By Ayo Oyoze Baje

“Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17)

*Deborah Samuel 

“Where has our humanity gone?” 

“Does human life really matter here?”

 “Is religion no more your personal relationship between you and your creator?”

 “Can we really judge others on behalf of God or Allah?”

“What shall we tell our maker about our actions on the Judgment Day?”

These were few of the burning questions that troubled my humid heart on the recent cruel, callous, crude and conscienceless murder of a female student, who was a Level Two student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Ms Deborah Samuel, by her school colleagues for alleged blasphemy.

According to credible media reports, the late student had cautioned those who posted what she considered as “useless information” on a Whatsapp Group platform created basically to share information about their studies as she was said to have asked the sender, in a voice note shared by her fellow students, to send important information, pointing out that “this group was not created for you to send useless information.” So, how did her traducers react when she traced her good grades to the salvaging power of Jesus, the Christ?