The remains of the second-year student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel has been laid to rest in Tungan Magajiya in Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State.
Late Deborah was lynched and burnt to death for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
The Sokoto State Government is said to have directed the family to keep the body in the mortuary until it concludes its arrangement on the matter.
Reports say that Deborah had been living with family members in Sokoto since her primary school days before the incident that lead to her death on Thursday.
Another report revealed that the family transported the remains of Deborah for burial, an official of the Sokoto State Government allegedly directed them to return the body as it belongs to the government.
The parents of the deceased disagreed with the position of the state government and insisted that she must be buried today.
The Pastor of the family in charge of 1st ECWA in Tunga Magajiya, Emmanuel Maaji while speaking on the development noted that Deborah’s family insisted that she be buried today as against the state government’s position to wait until it completes its own arrangement.
Pastor Maaji further stated that Deborah’s parents are not pleased with the state government handling the issue.
According to the cleric, the family of the deceased transported her body in a chartered bus.
The cleric disclosed that the state government called on them not to bury the body, but to keep it in a mortuary.
Pastor Maaji when asked the name of the government official, he said he can not recall, but that the person claimed to be a representative of the state government.
The CAN Coordinator of the Rijau Local Government Area, Reverend Danjuma Doma while confirming the development said, the family and church are preparing to bury the remains of Late Deborah, adding, “we will update you on the situation as it goes, but we are all here to support the family at this moment of grief.”
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 youth, the family and church decided to suspend the burial and deposit the deceased in the morgue to avoid further argument.
The cleric said, “But when we prevailed on the youth, 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.“
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