More details have emerged over the mob killing of a young lady in Niger State over an alleged blasphemous utterance against the Islamic faith.
The Niger State Police Command, which confirmed the killing on Sunday, said the lady, simply known as Ammaye, was burnt to death before security reinforcement could arrive.
The spokesman for the command, Wasiu Abiodun, who released a statement on the incident, said efforts were ongoing to identify, arrest, and prosecute all those involved in the crime.
Ammaye, a food seller, was lynched and set ablaze in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State by youths over alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred at Kasuwan Garba in the council area, when the lady, a Muslim faithful and well-known food seller, was said to have engaged in an exchange of words with a young man said to be her nephew.
The young man was said to have jokingly told Ammaye that he wanted to marry her to “fulfil the Sunnah”. The lady was said to have made comments considered blasphemous.
This was said to have outraged the young men in the neighbourhood. The matter was taken to the palace of the District Head of Kasuwan Garba, where the lady was interrogated, and she allegedly repeated what she had earlier said.
