Deborah Samuel crossed Islamic red line; don’t blame her killers: Imam of National Mosque Abuja

Ibrahim Maqari, imam of the National Mosque Abuja has justified the horrific murder of christian female student Deborah Samuel, blaming her for crossing the red lines of Islamic faith.
Absolving her killers, Mr Maqari hinted grave consequences awaited persons who crossed the religion’s red lines, noting that such conduct will not be tolerated.
“It should be known to everyone that we the Muslims have some red lines beyond which MUST NOT be crossed. The dignity of the Prophet (PBUH) is at the forefront of the red lines. If our grievances are not properly addressed, then we should not be criticized for addressing them ourselves,” said a statement posted on the imam’s Twitter account.
A Sokoto government official, Anas Mohammad Sani, also threatened that more Christians in Nigeria will be murdered if they say things considered disrespectful to their revered Prophet Muhammad.
“Muslims don’t take insults against beloved prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in whatever form,” he warned.
According to him, the Shehu Shagari College of Education student was brutally murdered because of her reckless comments regarding the Islamic faith.
Justifying the gruesome murder of the female Christian student, Mr Sani said, “The earlier our Christian brothers and sisters understand this, the better for all of us. May the recklessness of our tongues never drive us to (an) early grave.”
Ms Samuel, a 200 level Home-Economics student accused of blasphemy, had complained bitterly over the influx of religious broadcast messages shared to her department’s WhatsApp page.
Her complaints elicited the fury of fanatic coursemates and schoolmates who stoned her to death and set her lifeless body ablaze.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Heading 4
UK women, partners to get two weeks’ bereavement leave after miscarriage from next year
“From April, women and their partners will be entitled to two weeks off after any pregnancy loss,” Mr Burnham said.

Africa
Climate Change: 32 million West Africans may become refugees by 2050, says ECOWAS
ECOWAS says 32 million West Africans risk being displaced from their communities due to climate change.

States
Navy recovers 182,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Rivers
The Nigerian Navy recovered 182,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Rivers.

Economy
Edible oil tanker drivers suspend planned strike
NUEOTDN President Ilias Aperun said the decision followed interventions by the federal government and the State Security Service (SSS).

States
Lagos APC governorship candidate Hamzat rallies voters for 2027
Mr Hamzat expressed concern about declining voter participation, noting that of the 6.2 million registered voters in Lagos in the last election, only about 1.2 million voted.

Economy
NMDPRA begins consultations on anti-competition regulations in petroleum sector
The proposed regulations are designed to address abuse of dominance and promote fair, non-discriminatory access to essential petroleum infrastructure.





