Holy Family Church

Samuel, a student at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, was beaten and burned on May 11 after being accused of posting “blasphemous” statements about Islam in a WhatsApp group.

The Sokoto diocese said: “The Sokoto State Government has declared a 24-hour curfew to help stem the ongoing protests embarked upon by Muslim youth in the state capital today.”

“During the protest, groups of youths led by some adults in the background attacked the Holy Family Catholic Cathedral at Bello Way, destroying church glass windows, those of the Bishop Lawton Secretariat and vandalized a community bus parked within the premises.”

“St. Kevin’s Catholic Church, Gidan Dere, Eastern By-pass, was also attacked and partly burnt; windows of the new hospital complex under construction, in the same premises, were shattered.”

“They were promptly dispersed by a team of mobile policemen before they could do further damage.”

“The hoodlums also attacked the Bakhita Centre located along Aliyu Jodi Road and burnt down a bus within the premises.”

Sokoto Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah thanked state governor Aminu Tambuwal for imposing the curfew to quell protests, as well as the security forces for preventing further damage to diocesan facilities….

Kukah, who has led the Sokoto diocese since 2011, expressed “deep shock” at the “gruesome murder” of Samuel in a May 11 statement….

He went on: “This has nothing to do with religion. Christians have lived peacefully with their Muslim neighbors here in Sokoto over the years. This matter must be treated as a criminal act and the law must take its cause.”…