Armed ViolenceExtremismNews

Again, Mob Kills Another Nigerian For Blasphemy

HumAngle gathered that the angry mob stoned the victim and set him ablaze on Saturday.

A vigilante group member guarding the Timber shed market at the Federal Housing Estate in Abuja, North-central Nigeria, has been killed by an angry mob.

Ahmed Usman, HumAngle gathered, was stoned before he was set ablaze on Saturday, June 4, for allegedly making blasphemous statements.

There has been no arrest in the incident. Police said there is peace in the area now.

Eyewitnesses told HumAngle that the incident occurred when members of the vigilante group wanted to arrest some residents wandering around the market in the early hours of the day. 

“The residents pleaded for forgiveness in the name of Allah, but a vigilante member disagreed and made comments considered blasphemous. He was later beaten, stoned to death and burnt alive,” a trader who spoke to our reporter under anonymity said. 

Police confirmed the killing but claimed it happened when the victim “got into an argument with a Cleric (Malam) whose name is unknown from the same area.” 

“The heated argument degenerated into an outbreak of violence that led to the murder and setting ablaze of Ahmad Usman by the enraged mob mobilised by the clergy,” Josephine Adeh, Police Public Relations Officer for Abuja command, said in a statement. 

“Normalcy has since been restored to the situation, while monitoring and surveillance of the area continue.” 

The police spokesperson did not state if further actions have been taken to investigate what led to the mob action. 

The latest development comes weeks after the murder of Deborah Samuel, a Shehu Shagari College of Education student in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria.

A mob killed Deborah in the school after being accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. 

Meanwhile, many Nigerians have condemned the latest killing on social media

A Twitter user with the handle @Ayomide_nm said: 

@Benue_parrot said: 

https://twitter.com/Benue_Parrot/status/1533123695534907401?t=aDY7n0tGVNdvac9TNPXtcg&s=19

Below are some other reactions: 

https://twitter.com/Kelvinismael72/status/1533132406072528899?t=Tbkd9AnGy6Izl-Bd3msZng&s=19
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Adejumo Kabir

Kabir works at HumAngle as the Editor of Southern Operations. He is interested in community development reporting, human rights, social justice, and press freedom. He was a finalist in the student category of the African Fact-checking Award in 2018, a 2019 recipient of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence, and a 2020 recipient of the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award. He was also nominated in the journalism category of The Future Awards Africa in 2020. He has been selected for various fellowships, including the 2020 Civic Media Lab Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship and 2022 International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) 'In The Name of Religion' Fellowship.

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