President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, condemned the killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto by her colleagues and ordered a probe of the incident.
Deborah was reportedly attacked by some irate fellow students for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.
On Thursday, a video of the student being lynched and burnt went viral on social media.
Buhari, who spoke on incident on Friday in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu, said whatever had been the circumstances, no one is allowed to take laws into their hands.
“No person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country. Violence has and never will solve any problem,” Buhari was quoted as saying.
Buhari added that the matter requires extensive investigation to determine the issues surrounding it.
The statement reads, “President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the resort to self-help by the mob in sokoto, resulting in violence, destruction and killing of a second year student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, following an allegation that she had blasphemed Muhammad (SAW), the Prophet of Islam on Thursday.
“President Buhari said the news of the killing of the young lady by fellow students was a matter of concern and demanded an impartial, extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident.
“The President noted that Muslims all over the world demand respect for the Holy Prophets, including Isah (Alaihissalaam, Jesus Christ) and Muhammad (SAW) but where transgressions occur, as alleged to be the case in this instance, the law does not allow anyone to take matters into their hands.
“Moreover, religious leaders preach that it is not for the believer to judge the actions of another person. The constituted authority must be allowed to deal with such matters when they arise.”
The President’s spokesman added that Buhari “extended the nation’s condolences to the family of the deceased student and wished all those injured a quick recovery.”
The President has, however, directed the Ministries of Information and Culture, Police Affairs and that of Communications and Digital Economy to “work with GSM providers and tech companies to help contain the spread of false and inflammatory information through social media.”
A statement by Shehu said Buhari also commended the efforts of the Sokoto State Government to address the situation, urging religious and community leaders to “call citizens’ attention to the need to exercise the right to freedom of speech responsibly.”
The President also called for calm from the public, and “tempered comments by the media”, saying investigation into the incident had commenced.
