Deborah had reportedly been living with family members in Sokoto since she was in primary school until her gruesome murder.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
It was as heartrending as it was solemn. The wailing was uncontrollable. A community lamenting over the senseless and gruesome murder of their beloved one even as the state surrenders sovereignty to blood-thirsty non-state actors.
The remains of Deborah Samuel, the female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was stoned to death on Thursday by her colleagues – Muslim Fundamentalists – for alleged blasphemy, was laid to rest in Tunga Magajiya, Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday.
TheNiche had reported how Deborah was on Thursday violently stoned to death and later set ablaze by the angry mob, who are mostly students of the college.
Deborah’s remains were buried even as the Sokoto State Government allegedly insisted that the body be kept in the mortuary until they concluded their own burial arrangement.
Reporting by Daily Post indicated that the deceased had been living with family members in Sokoto since she was in primary school.
It was learnt that while her body was being transported home for burial, an official of the Sokoto State Government allegedly called that it should be brought back as it belongs to the government.
The government had asked the family to deposit the deceased in the mortuary until burial arrangements were concluded.
However, the parents disagreed with the government’s position and insisted that their daughter’s body would be buried on Saturday.
The Pastor in charge of the 1st ECWA in Tunga Magajiya, Pastor Emmanuel Maaji, explained that the family insisted that their daughter be buried on Saturday as against the state government’s position to wait until they completed their own arrangement.
According to him, the parents were not happy with the way the government was handling the issue.
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The cleric said the body of the deceased was transported back home in a chartered bus and not a government vehicle.
Maaji further stated that the government only called and said that it was not right for the family to take the body like that without informing them.
When asked the name of the government official that asked that Deborah’s corpse be brought back to Sokoto State, the pastor said he couldn’t recollect the name, but that the person claimed to be a representative of the state government.
Earlier, there was a disagreement over the burial site prepared for her at the town’s cemetery, when some group of youths appeared and claimed that she cannot be laid to rest in it, saying that it was dug for another deceased person in the area.
Also, confirming the development, Pastor Maaji said as a result of the action of the youths, the family and church decided to suspend the burial and deposit the deceased in the morgue to avoid further argument.
”But, when we prevailed on the youths, they saw reason with us and allowed us to bury her in the grave under contention. This is because, the body is burnt and not good to the eyes,” the cleric added.