Holy Family Catholic Cathedral in Sokoto, north-west Nigeria was attacked by a mob amid protests demanding the release of two suspects in the killing of a Christian student.
Youths targeted Holy Family Catholic Cathedral in Sokoto, north-west Nigeria, after police arrested two students in connection with the murder of Deborah Samuel, said by the Diocese of Sokoto in a statement.
Samuel, a student at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, was beaten and burned on May 11 after being accused of posting “blasphemous” statements about Islam in a WhatsApp group.
The Sokoto diocese said: “The Sokoto State Government has declared a 24-hour curfew to help stem the ongoing protests embarked upon by Muslim youth in the state capital today.”
“During the protest, groups of youths led by some adults in the background attacked the Holy Family Catholic Cathedral at Bello Way, destroying church glass windows, those of the Bishop Lawton Secretariat and vandalizing a community bus parked within the premises.”
“St. Kevin’s Catholic Church, Gidan Dere, Eastern By-pass, was also attacked and partly burnt; windows of the new hospital complex under construction, in the same premises, were shattered.”
“They were promptly dispersed by a team of mobile policemen before they could do further damage.”
“The hoodlums also attacked the Bakhita Centre located along Aliyu Jodi Road and burnt down a bus within the premises.”
The Diocese of Sokoto includes all of Sokoto State (in red), as well as parts of the neighboring states of Zamfara, Kebbi and Katsina. Himalayan Explorer, based on work by Uwe Dedering via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).