Emmanuel Garba, the father of Deborah Samuel of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State who was killed by a mob over alleged blasphemy, has said no government official has spoken with the family since the incident.
In the same vein, he said that the mother of Deborah and one of her siblings are down with undisclosed sickness over her sudden death.
“My daughter was a God-fearing Christian, who was caring and obedient to us as her parents and her siblings. No government official has called any of us and we have not been visited by any delegation,” he said.
Garba, who hails from Tungan Magajiya in the Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State, told Punch in an interview that the mother and sibling were yet to recover more than a week after the incident and he was not sure “if they will ever forget this thing that befell us.”
The father, who works as a guard with the Niger State Water and Sanitation (an agency of the government), insisted that he had left the matter to God and he would not seek vengeance.
He said, “I got a call from my elder brother, who is in Sokoto, asking me to come over, that something bad had happened. He didn’t want to break the sad news to me on the phone. So, when I got there, he told me what happened.
“I was extremely sad and confused, and didn’t know what to do or say for a long time. The mother and her siblings are heartbroken; one of my children and the mother became sick as a result of the news of her death and how she was killed. They have still not recovered and I doubt if they will ever forget this thing that befell us, but we pray that the Almighty God makes things easy for us all.
Last week in several reports noted that Deborah was on Thursday, May 12 dragged outside her hostel, beaten, killed and burnt by her Muslim colleagues in the presence of security personnel, for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Her killing has been condemned by groups and notable persons from within and outside Nigeria.
The Sokoto State Police Command had on Monday, May 16 arraigned two suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunchi, before the Sokoto State Magistrate Court for allegedly participating in Deborah’s killing.
The suspects, who were represented by 34 Muslim lawyers led by Prof Mansur Ibrahim, were arraigned on controversial charges of “criminal conspiracy and inciting of public disturbance.”
