June 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
A man died on Sunday after being lynched in the city of Sokoto, the capital of the homonymous state (northwest) after being accused of blasphemy during a verbal dispute with a group of children who were begging, as confirmed by the authorities.
The event took place around 10:00 a.m. (local time), according to witnesses quoted by the Nigerian newspaper ‘The Premium Times’, who have indicated that the man repeated his comment on several occasions after several of those present questioned him and They will ask you to withdraw your claims.
“My brother was there. When Usman (Buda) — the victim — insulted the prophet, several people said he had mental problems, but most of those who were there, who were business partners, said they had no evidence of that,” he said.
Thus, he has pointed out that “some of the young people demanded that he withdraw his statements, but he insisted that he would not do so.” “He repeated it three times, after which they began to attack him,” he said.
The Sokoto Police spokesman, Ahmad Rufai, has confirmed that the suspect “would have blasphemed the holy prophet Muhammad, for which he was lynched and attacked by some Muslim faithful, who caused him serious injuries.” “The mob members left the scene and left the victim unconscious,” he explained.
Rufai has pointed out that the man was transferred from the place to a nearby hospital “to receive treatment”, although his death could only be confirmed upon arrival at the medical center. “The area is calm,” he stressed, referring to the fact that there have been no more clashes after the event, which is being investigated.
The event takes place after a student was lynched and her body was burned in May 2022 at her study center after being accused of blasphemy. Clashes later broke out as police arrested several suspects, although no one has been charged in the murder.
