Sokoto Killing: Obi Denies Panic Report To Igbo To Flee The North

By James Orji

The Obi of Onisha, Nnaemeka Achebe, has denied reports that he directed Igbo living in the Northern part of Nigeria to return home in the wake of the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto State on May 12, 2022.

Deborah, a Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, was killed by some Islamic fundamentalists for, allegedly, blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Aminu Tambuwal had called for calm, while security agencies arrested and arraigned two suspects only, connected with the killing of Deborah, the 200 level student in the school by her killers who, after stoning her, set her ablaze.

In spite of steps so far taken by the State government to restore peace, the development has however, led to panic in the ancient city, particularly among non-indigenes from the South after reports that some criminally-minded people were planning mayhem.

Already, some Churches and shops belonging to non- indigenes have been torched by some aggrieved Muslims demanding the release of the suspects connected with the murder.

In the face of the apprehension, the Obi of Onisha was said to have directed Igbo living in the region to head back home to avoid being caught in the violence likely to erupt again.

Denying the viral report in the social media, the Traditional Ruler said he did not issue any directive asking the Igbo living in the Northern part of the country to relocate back home.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by Chinyelugo Anionwu, his Chief of Staff, the Obi said the report was fake, that he had issued no statement to that effect.

The statement said, “The attention of Imeobi Onicha Palace has been drawn to a statement to the effect that His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, Obi of Onitsha, has called on every Igbo living in the North to come back home immediately.

“The statement which has gone viral on social media is fake and should be discountenanced.”

Meanwhile, Deborah’s father, Emmanuel Garba, has disclosed that Policemen and other Security Personnel sent to rescue his daughter from her killers did not do enough to prevent her from being killed.

Garba, who had earlier handed the killers of Deborah to God, said the security agents watched as his daughter was being murdered, noting that they had the opportunity to save her life, but left her to die.

Narrating what happened Garba said: “More than 100 Policemen were there. They were more than 100. The DSS people there were not many. The DSS people tried to rescue her but left it to the police when they came in about five to seven vehicles, including the Civil Defence. But see what eventually happened.”

When asked if the Police Officers deliberately did what they did, he said: “Well, what can I say? If they did it deliberately, I leave them to the hands of God because I believe that if the Police and the other security agencies wanted to rescue her, immediately they shot in the air and the mob dispersed, they could have taken her into one of their many vehicles and zoomed off.”