Some Nigerians on social media have bashed former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar after he deleted a post condemning the killing of a female collage student over an alleged blasphemy of Prophet Muhammad.
Deborah Yakubu, a part two student of Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE) was brutally murdered by irate mob accused of passing unflattering comments about Prophet Mohammed on campus.
Following the confirmation of the incident by school authority and security operatives, the PDP presidential aspirant posted on his verified Twitter and Facebook page condemning the incident asking for culprits involved to be brought to book.
Atiku post reads: “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind her death must be brought to justice. My condolences to her family and friends.”
This post attracted reactions from some people who are said to be northerners threatened not to vote for him in the forthcoming 2023 elections.While he did not engage them, he first deleted the post he made on Facebook and about an hour later, he also deleted that of Twitter.
A spokesman for Atiku Abubkar did not return a request seeking comments about why he took down the post.However, in a later Facebook post of Atiku which was written in Hausa language, he denied knowing about the post saying that any post made not carrying ‘AA’ in any of his page is not from him.
“This evening I recieved that a post was made that doesn’t agree with my orders. I use this to announce that any post without AA is not from me. May God protect – AA,” the post reads.The former vice president’s actions have since earned him the derision of most Nigerians, who accused him of always chickening out when the going gets tough, an action they termed ‘unpresidential’.
Man of Letters wrote: Detribalized” Atiku seized that moment to identify with his brothers. He understands that Northern votes are more important to his Presidential ambition than being a sensible person.Nnaemeka Udeh reacted that; “You can see why I won’t vote for Atiku. He is of same, he deleted the FB and twitter pages were he condemned the dastardly act of the killing of Deborah Yakubu due to backlash from fanatics from the north. What more can you say of a man standing for president but can’t be firm.Uloma stated that: “We need a President with empathy, one that can speak truth to power at all times. Atiku is not that.”Ugwunna Ejikem wrote: “Atiku Abubakar deleting his social media posts condemning the killing & calling for justice is enough proof that absolutely nothing will be done & life will go on as usual… Sickening!”
Meanwhile, Police Command have arrested two people involved in the incident and appealed to members of the public to go about their lawful activities and should not panic as the situation is under control.
The state government through Commissioner of Information, Isa Bajini Galadanchi, has also condemned the incident saying the situation was unfortunate.He stated that Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who is away, has directed that investigation into the matter should commence immediately.
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III also reacted to the incident.A statement from the Sultan’s palace reads that, “the Sultanate Council has learnt with dismay the unfortunate happenings at the Shehu Shagari College of Education, (SSCOE) Sokoto that led to the loss of life of a female student of the Institution.”“The Sultanate Council condemned the incident in its totality and has urged the security agencies to bring perpetrators of the unjustifiable incident to justice.“The Sultanate Council has urged all to remain calm and ensure peaceful co-existence among all people of the state and nation,” it concluded.
