Man Killed by Mob in Bauchi Over Alleged Blasphemy

An irate mob in Bauchi has killed a man simply identified as Yunusa after he was accused of making blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad.

The incident was said to have taken place on Wednesday at about 3:00 pm in Nasaru community, located in the Ningi Local Government Area of the state.

According to an eyewitness, Umar Abubakar, an argument erupted between Yunusa and another individual, during which Yunusa allegedly made the blasphemous remarks, which quickly escalated to a mob action.

“The victim was a member of the Faira Islamic Sect. When he insulted the Prophet, some young men challenged him to retract his statement. He refused and repeated it, which led to the beating,” Abubakar recounted to reporters on phone.

Another eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous due to the tense situation, said the Police initially rescued Yunusa and took him to their outpost in the community.

However, the mob overpowered the Police and killed him.

Efforts to get the reaction of the spokesman for the Bauchi State Police Command, SP Ahmed Muhammad, proved abortive as he did not reply to text messages sent to him.

Report stated that Yunusa’s death echoes a similar incident that occurred in May 2021 in Sade village, Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The angry youths had set a water vendor named Talle Mai Ruwa ablaze for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Mai Ruwa was detained at a local Police station before the mob seized him from his cell and killed him.

Another incident occured in May 2022 when a Christian woman named Rhoda Jatau, a 40-year-old mother of four and health worker with the Warji Local Government Area, narrowly escaped being lynched in Katanga, the headquarters of Warji LGA, after being accused of posting a video on her office’s WhatsApp platform that was considered disrespectful to Islam, inciting the anger of the Muslim community.