Finally, Atiku Condemns Deborah’s Murder; Cleric Says It Is Political Condemnation

By Adesina Soyooye

Seven months after the gruesome murder of Deborah Yakubu, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has, finally, publicly condemned it.

Deborah, a 200 level student of the Federal College of Education, Sokoto, who was of the Christian Faith, was stoned to death, and her body set ablaze, for alleged blasphemy on May 12, 2022.

She was alleged to have expressed concern on a Class Whatsaap Group, over the proliferation of Islamic materials on the Platform, and said she thought it was meant for Class issues only.

That was termed blasphemous, and she was killed on the school premises by some of her Islamic fanatical colleagues.

Her murder, especially, the cruel way she was killed, sparked outrage within and outside the Country. It was strongly condemned by many Countries, including the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Most Nigerian politicians, especially, Presidential Aspirants, feigned deaf and dumb to her murder. But a tweet which condemned Deborah’s murder, appeared on Atiku’s verified Tweeter handle within hours. It read: “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind her murder must be brought to justice.

“My condolences to her family and friends.”

Surprisingly, within 24   hours, Atiku took the post down, claiming that it was posted without his permission. What happened, however, was that Islamic fundamentalists attacked Atiku for the post, and threatened to not vote for him in 2023.

But  the deleted post and his explanation, angered most Christians who accused him of preferring his votes to the life of a young student so cruelly cut down at 22 years.

Since then, Atiku, as did other contestants, neither condemned  Deborah’s murder, nor consoled her family which has, since, been relocated to Porthacourt, Rivers State, by a benevolent Christian Cleric.

But on Sunday, at a Town Hall on Channels Television, Atiku finally condemned Deborah’s murder. He described it as un-Islamic, and posited that there was nowhere in the Holy Qur’an where such a murder was recommended. He said there is a process before it, and Deborah was not given the privilege of that process. He, also, repeated his reason for deleting the post – it did not have his permission, he emphasized.

Atiku on Channels: “I condemned it (the murder). There is nowhere it is said or there is an injunction in the Islamic Faith that you can go and take someone’s life. It has to be through due process.”

However, not a few people dismiss Atiku’s condemnation on Sunday as “medicine after death.”

Asked an angry Christian Cleric who pleaded anonymity because he did not want to get involved in what he called “the politics of Atiku’s silence on Deborah: “Atiku condemns the murder now because he needs Christian votes. Let me assume that the first tweet was not authorized by him, why has he not condemned Deborah’s murder since then. Why did he not re-tweet? Why did it take him seven months to condemn it. I am not impressed.”