Violence | Authors-choice: Hope & Revival

The Martyrdom of Deborah Samuel

17 05 2022

Many Nigerians are understandably shocked by the death last week of Deborah Samuel, a beautiful 25-year-old female student at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto., who was mobbed by her classmates for alleged blasphemy against Islam. However, instead of mourning, Christians should rejoice because Deborah has given her life for her faith, the surest proof that she possesses the truth, and that her love for God is mightier than the power of darkness and terror, for greater love than this no man has that he lays down his life for his friends(John 5:13). Furthermore, from ancient times to the present, it is the blood of Christians that waters the seed of the faith ( LaBanca, 2018). This is our faith and the law that our founder, Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross for us, established, and Deborah conquered death by dying.

According to reports, the trouble started in a class WhatsApp group when Deborah was asked how she passed an exam, and she replied that it was because of Jesus. Her response irritated some male Muslim students, who mocked her Christian faith and advised her to remove that statement. In a knee-jerk reaction to the attack on her freedom, she refused and went on to remind them that the class WhatsApp group was created to discuss class assignments and tests, not all the “religious nonsense” they had been posting here.

The Muslim students, enraged by her dismissal of the Islamic articles they had been posting, demanded that she apologize for insulting Islam and, specifically, the Prophet Mohammed (AWS) by calling the Islamic articles “nonsense.” Deborah refused, claiming she had said nothing wrong and had insulted no one. When the Muslim student insisted, they threatened to deal with her if she didn’t. Deborah responded to their threats by leaving a voice message that said, “Holy Ghost fire, nothing will happen to me,” and reiterated that the WhatsApp group was created for class assignments, tests, and academic pursuits, not for religious purposes. However, she had unknowingly signed her death warrant as the Muslim student went outside the school grounds to hire some Islamic executioners and led the men into the school grounds looking for her. Pandemonium erupted, and her classmates fled to the school security room to hide her, but the men arrived armed and ready to deal with anyone who stood in their way, and they overpowered the guards and dragged Deborah out. “What do you hope to accomplish with this?” She asked the killers, and those were her last words, according to her classmates, as the men and several Muslim students beat, stoned, and clobbered her to death, and the video of them setting her corpse on fire has long gone viral on the internet, shocking not only millions of Nigerians but people all over the world.

The acts have been condemned by Muslims and Christians alike, and no one can think of a justification for such behavior. Who appointed those Muslim classmates to the positions of judge, jury, and executioner? According to Nigeria’s current Chief Justice, Justice Tanko Ibrahim Mohammed, “Islam is not a primitive religion in which followers can take the law into their own hands and commit jungle justice.” Rather, there is a judicial system in Islam that hears and decides cases, including criminal trials, and anyone accused of committing an offense against the religion or a fellow citizen should be brought before a court (either a Sharia or a secular/common law court) for adjudication” (Shuaib, 2022).

Furthermore, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, a respected and learned Islamic cleric, offers a powerful refutation of those who believe that Islamic tenets call for bloodshed when he says that even the Prophet Movement (Peace be upon him) was insulted while he was alive and he did not kill anyone (Alamu, 2022). According to Bello Shagari, a Muslim business consultant, the mob killing of Deborah is un-Islamic and repugnant and would end up giving Islam a bad name. This was posted on his Twitter feed:

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar, condemned the killing in its entirety on Thursday in a message from the Sultanate Council, urging Sokoto state authorities to bring the killers to justice. The message is displayed below.

( Courtesy of Sahara reporters, 2022)

On Friday, President Buhari reacted to the incident, calling the killing illegal. He stated that, while Muslims all over the world demand that the Prophet be respected, no one in this country has the authority to break the law. The President offered his condolences to the deceased’s family and demanded an impartial investigation into the incident (Ailemen, 2022). According to critics, the President’s tardy response came only after the British High Commissioner demanded justice and the arrest of Deborah’s murderers. However, the point has been made. Surprisingly, some critics argue that Deborah had crossed an Islamic red line and thus deserved what she got. Shehu Shagari, on the other hand, condemned such clerics and urged them to wake up and educate the public about the truth(Orupe, 2022).

Furthermore, Shiekh Gumi contends that mob actions tarnish Islam’s white sultan’s reputation as the religion of peace, and he urges those who stain their hands with blood by engaging in extrajudicial killings to repent because they were perverting the name of Islam by using it to justify their bloody deeds. Furthermore, he reminded everyone that Nigeria is a secular state and that when Muslims and non-Muslims coexist through mutual agreements, they must be respected, and anyone who harms them is breaking Islamic law and will be unable to smell the fragrance of paradise for 40 years, according to the Quran.(Alamu, 2022). In addition, he argues that if Muslims want all men, particularly non-religious people in this country, to convert to Islam, then they must shun mob action and violence which will only alienate people from Islam by portraying Muslims as killers. Furthermore, the cleric claims that such mob actions contribute to an increase in insults and not less (Odunsi, 2022).

Adewale Martin, the Archbishop of Lagos, condemned the killing as barbaric, diabolic, and satanic, and urged authorities to find and punish the perpetrators (Eyoboka, 2022) while urging Christians to remain calm. Similarly, the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned the murder and petitioned the Inspector General of Police to leave no stone unturned until the killers are apprehended. The Christian Journalist Association of Nigeria, as well as Catholic communicators and Christian groups from across the country, have also condemned the killing (Jannamike, 2022).

Regardless, Deborah may have erred and should have apologized for disrespecting the Islamic faith, but none of her actions justified the brutality of the death meted out to her, and what is clear is that the people who carried out this dastardly act acted wantonly and do not have the support of Islamic scholars or law enforcement, as Sokoto police have arrested some of them while the rest remain at large. The subsequent mayhem that ensued following their arrest is further evidence that these are the works of thugs who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

However, Christians must understand that it is not uncommon for them to perish at the hands of those who despise them. Those Muslim students despised her for being a Christian and wished to teach her a lesson to show her that her Christianity cannot protect her against their power. However, they are mistaken because a Christian lives through death. We Christians are not only anti-violence; we are a religion of love, and our founder, Jesus Christ, teaches us to love our enemies and do good to them.

Instead of mourning, which is understandable, Christians rejoice when they give their lives for their faith because that is the surest proof that we love God, for greater love than this no man has that he lays down his life for his friends, and additionally, from ancient times to the present, it is the blood of Christians that waters the seed of the faith, and Christianity has always grown deep roots and wider spread as long as it is persecuted. This is our faith and the law established for us by our founder, Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross.

Deborah’s assassins have only her body and can do nothing else because she is now immortal and with God, and everything, as Deborah’s parents stated, is in God’s hands. And, while pleading with the authorities to do everything in their power to bring justice and bring the perpetrator to justice, let it be known to them that Deborah has conquered death and defeated them precisely by dying at their hands, just as Christ her savior conquered death and the devil by dying on the cross, and similarly, Deborah will rise again seated with Christ.

by Chinwuba Iyizoba

Editor, Authorchioce.

References

Ailemen, A.(2022) Buhari condemns killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto. Businessday.ng Retrieved from https://businessday.ng/news/article/buhari-condemns-killing-of-deborah-samuel-in-sokoto/

Alamu, T.(2022).Blasphemy: Deborah Parents Breaks Silence Over Death Of Their Daughter And More .Ngnews247. Retrieved from https://www.ngnews247.com/blasphemy-deborah-parents-breaks-silence-over-death-of-their-daughter-and-more/

Eyoboka, S. (2022). Archbishop Martins wants perpetrators punished. Vanguardngr. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/murder-of-deborah-yakubu-archbishop-martins-wants-perpetrators-punished/

Eyoboka, S. (2022, May 13). Catholic Communicators Condemn the Killing of Deborah. Vanguardngr. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/catholic-communicators-condemn-killing-of-deborah-yakubu/

Jannamike, L. (2022). Sokoto blasphemy: CAN’s youth wing petitions IGP over Deborah Yakubu’s murder.Vanguardngr. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/sokoto-blasphemy-cans-youth-wing-petitions-igp-over-deborah-yakubus-murder/

LaBanca, N. (2018). Blood of the Martyrs Is Still Seed for the Church. Ascensionpress. Retrieved from https://media.ascensionpress.com/2018/09/17/blood-of-the-martyrs-is-still-seed-for-the-church/

Odunsi, W. (2022). Deborah Samuel: Prophet Muhammad never killed despite insults – Sheikh Gumi condemns murder. dailypost.ng. Retrieved from https://dailypost.ng/2022/05/15/deborah-samuel-prophet-muhammad-never-killed-despite-insults-sheikh-gumi-condemns-murder/

Orupe, T. (2022, May 13).Deborah crossed Islamic red line; her killers were right- Imam of National Mosque. Idomavoice. Retrieved from https://www.idomavoice.com/2022/05/deborah-crossed-islamic-red-line-her-killers-were-right-imam-of-national-mosque.html

Sahara reporter (2022). Sultan Of Sokoto Condemns Killing Of Female College Student For Alleged Blasphemy. Retrieved from https://www.ngnews247.com/blasphemy-deborah-parents-breaks-silence-over-death-of-their-daughter-and-more/

Shuaib, Y. (2022).Blasphemy: Positions of Justice System and the Holy Quran. Theworldnews.net. Retrieved from https://theworldnews.net/mw-news/blasphemy-positions-of-justice-system-and-the-holy-quran-by-yushau-shuaib

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Tags: Deborah Samuel, Sokoto Killing, Viral
Categories : God, Violence, Women

It all begins at home

7 02 2021

On a chilly September night in 1994, two teenage brothers forced an 11 year old boy, Robert Sandifer into the back of a car, drove him to an alley, told him to get out and on his knees and shot him twice at the back of the head killing him. Robert (also called “Yummy”) and the teenage brothers where part of a gang robbing, raping and dealing drugs in the neighborhood, and Yummy was on the run for killing a teenage girl, the problem was that the brothers felt Yummy was compromised and could give them away and the only way to deal with that was to take him out. The news broke in Chicago media and indeed the world was amazed that such young boys where capable of such crime, and the Times featured Yummy’s picture on the front page with the title, “Too young to kill, too young to die.” The two brothers were arrested however, the older who was 16 at the time was sentenced to 60 years jail time, while the younger 14, got 45 year jail.

How did things come to such a pass and how did these youngsters turn killers. Some people blame this tragic incident on the failure of the system to provide guidance, encouragement for youngsters. But all time superstars, Denzel Washington disagrees.

“It all begins at the home,” he says, “because the time the system comes into play, the damage is done. Where was his father? It starts in the house, it starts in the home… If the father is not home, then the street becomes the father.”

So, where were Yummy’s mother and father? Yummy mother was arrested multiple times for prostitution, and his father was in jail for felony and he was seriously abused boy, who ran away juvenile home authorities sent him after his mother’s arrest, and at age of 8 lived out on the streets where he joined up with gangs running drugs and robbing people.

“So we have to ask where Yummy’s father was.” Washington continues “and if you say he is jail, I would ask where the father of Yummy’s father was?”

Denzel Washington

What Washington is saying is that parents are the first educators of their children and if they fail in that duty, it is usually too late to help. And he is not the only one saying it. The Catholic Church has been preaching this for centuries, that parents have the great duty to bring up their children to be good citizens and no system, or government agency can play that role effectively, making it all important that governments should promote stable families.

Pope Francis adds that the family is the “center of love” where the law of respect and communion reigns and is able to resist the pressure of manipulation and domination from the world’s ‘power centers’. In the heart of the family, the person naturally and harmoniously blends into a human group, overcoming the false opposition between the individual and society.

St. Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei, when asked about how parents can become good fathers and good mothers said:

Parents teach their children mainly through their own conduct. What a son or daughter looks for in a father or mother is not only a certain amount of knowledge or some more or less effective advice, but primarily something more important: a proof of the value and meaning of life, shown through the life of a specific person, and confirmed in the different situations and circumstances that occur over a period of time. He continues saying that

The parents are the first people responsible for the education of their children, in human as well as in spiritual matters. They should be conscious of the extent of their responsibility. To fulfill it, they need prudence, understanding, a capacity to love and a concern for giving good example.

Being a father or a mother is not simply a matter of bringing children into the world. The capacity for generation, which is a share in the creative power of God, is meant to have a continuation. Parents are called to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the development of their children into men and women who will be authentic Christians.

It is true that in today’s busy world parents have to grapple with lots of things, including not having enough time to be with their children as a result of work or lack of it, or some other circumstances that impede them from carrying out this duty, but St. Josemaria insist:

Parents should find time to spend with their children, to talk with them. They are the most important thing – more important than business or work or rest. In their conversations “parents should make an effort to listen, to pay attention, to understand, to recognize the fact that their children are sometimes partly right – or even completely right – in some of their rebellious attitudes. At the same time, they should help their children to direct their efforts and to carry out their projects properly, teaching them to consider things and to reason them out. It is not a matter of imposing a line of conduct, but rather of showing the human and supernatural motives for it. In a word, parents have to respect their children’s freedom, because there is no real education without personal responsibility, and there is no responsibility without freedom.”

And in January 16, 1915, speaking at a meeting of Families in Manila, Pope Francis also warned of some ideologies seeking to destroy the family:

“The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life and adds that every threat to the family is a threat to society itself.”

Not to mention the sexual revolution that has been wrecking havoc since its inception in the 60’s on the lives of vulnerable young men and women, resulting in spiking teenage pregnancies, poverty, crime, school dropout and substance abuse. This comes out graphically in the case of Yummy and the two teenage boys who killed him. Lottie Joiner, writing for the Center for Health Journalism, lives in a neighborhood four miles from U.S Capitol claims that “73 percent of children in the neighborhood live in households headed by a woman.”

“And research show,” she continues, “that children in fatherless homes easily drop out of school, exhibit behavioral problems, end up in the criminal justice system, suffer unemployment, and are at a greater risk of substance and drug abuse.”

University of California San Francisco Professor Howard Pinderhughes adds that “If you don’t have a father in the home who can act as a source of support and one of your pillars for your formation of resilience, then you’re less likely to be resilient in the face of a lot of sources of trauma.”

Family therapist Ayize Ma’at chips in that 90 percent of his clients are black boys without fathers, many of whom come in with major depression disorders.

“We look at our youth and say that they’re bad. I like to say they’re hurting,” said Ma’at. “Their behaviors are behaviors of them acting out pain. They’re just trying to meet a need — the need to be included, to be loved, to be welcomed, respected and wanted.”

“The future of humanity, as Saint John Paul II often said, passes through the family,” Pope Francis continues:

So protect your families! See in them your country’s greatest treasure and nourish them always by prayer and the grace of the sacraments. Families will always have their trials, but may you never add to them! Instead, be living examples of love, forgiveness and care. Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death. What a gift this would be to society, if every Christian family lived fully its noble vocation! So rise with Jesus and Mary, and set out on the path the Lord traces for each of you.