Poor handling of blasphemy lynching

ALL over the civilised world (meaning countries ruled by universally acceptable laws) extra-judicial killings or mob justice is seriously frowned on and unacceptable. It portrays a system as one that is ineffective and unable to implement its laws and prevent or minimise the prevalence of outlaw killings. Most countries where mob killings are the norm rather than the exception are in a state of failure.

Lynching of suspects of abhorrent crimes is rampant in Nigeria. From alleged thieves to suspected witches to those accused of “blasphemy” (which obtains in the Muslim North), mobs, whether spontaneous or organised, feel free to take the lives of fellow citizens at will without the slightest fear of consequences.

The particular issue of “blasphemy” killings in the North is an issue that nobody appears willing to address with a view to bringing it under control. In May last year, Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Wamakko, Sokoto State, was lynched by a mob for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad.

Though the mob was quite sizeable, only two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, were charged for “public disturbance”. The police which charged them to court failed to appear for their prosecution, and the killers were let off the hook. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who had condemned the crime in a tweet, later deleted it when he was threatened with vote boycott by Islamic extremists.

And so, when about a fortnight ago another blasphemy suspect, a butcher known as Usman Buda, was lynched for the same alleged offence, it was not surprising that the newly-installed governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu (more or less) condoned the act when he said in a statement:

“The present administration will not take the issue of blasphemy lightly, and will deal decisively with anyone found guilty of any act aimed at degrading the personality of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), in line with the provision of Islamic law”.

Under the Nigerian Constitution, blasphemy is categorised as a “crime”. In the Criminal Code which obtains in the South, it is punishable by imprisonment. But in the Muslim North which operates the Penal Code, it is punishable by death as in other Sharia-practising Muslim enclaves around the world.

Blasphemy is not seen as a major issue in the South, even in areas of Muslim predominance. But in the North, it is so serious that the law altogether abandons the suspect to the mobs and the system is unwilling to even follow the law to its logical conclusion when it occurs.

What worries us is that very often, the victims of lynching are framed up by traducers, and little basis is established to justify in court the taking of human lives. This is irresponsible governance.

It must stop.

Culled from Vanguard