The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olumide Akpata has revealed that the NBA may take over the case of Deborah Yakubu. According to Akpata, the association is likely to intervene in the prosecution of suspects arrested relating to the death of Deborah.
Akpata disclosed that information with the NBA indicating that the suspects are facing a charge of breach of public peace. He added that the charge is relatively minimal compared to the disgusting event that claim the life of Deborah Yakubu.
Furthermore, He went on to call on the State government to take the right approach to ensure that justice prevails. He conceded that the investigation might take a while, but the government should bear in mind that the association is watching.
Other groups in support of the NBA
Also, there are increasing calls from bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to include murder in the charges. The NHRC believes that ensuring justice prevails will set the tone against such occurrences in the future. While CAN has overtly emphasized that heartbreaking occurrence reflects the ordeals of Christians from their host community in the North.
Recall that a group of youth recently lynched Deborah Yakubu, a student of Sheu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto. According to the reports, the youths accused Deborah of being blasphemous against Prophet Muhammad.
Unfortunately, The ugly incident has birthed a series of controversial events thereafter. The prominent of these events is the protest by Youths against the arrest of suspects relating to Deborah’s death. This protest also resulted in the loss of properties of Christians in the region.
However, the suspects Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci are currently facing trial before the Sokoto State Magistrates Court. As against the expected trial for Murder, the two are facing charges of disrupting public peace. This development has birthed a range of criticism from various groups and individuals in the country.
