Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and PDP presidential aspirant in the 2023 presidential election has apologised to northern fanatics for condemning the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel, a Christian female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Wamako.
Ms Samuel, a 200 level Home-Economics student accused of blasphemy, had complained bitterly over the influx of religious broadcast messages shared to her department’s WhatsApp page.
Mr Atiku blamed his social media handlers for condemning Ms Samuel’s murder without consulting him.
“This evening, I received information that a post was made that doesn’t agree with my orders. I use this to announce that any post without AA is not from me. May God protect – AA,” Mr Atiku wrote on his Facebook page.
TheLeadng had earlier reported Mr Atiku’s deletion of posts syndicated on his Facebook and Twitter pages about the slain student after receiving a barrage of threats from religious fanatics who asked him to forget his presidential ambition.
The comments, mainly from fundamentalists, warned the politician to stay away from condemning the murder of the Christian student.
Mr Atiku, succumbing to the threats, distanced himself from the posts in a quick rebuttal. He blamed his social media handlers for posting without his consent.
This is not the first time Mr Atiku would refrain from condemning acts of violence perpetrated by religious fanatics.
In 2020, a Sharia court in Kano sentenced Sharif Aminu to death for singing a blasphemous song against the holy prophet.
Mr Atiku, known for his strong reactions against social injustice, kept mum in the face of widespread criticisms demanding Mr Aminu’s release. His silence provoked the ire of many Nigerians.
“Atiku has an opinion about everything except on the death sentence passed on that young fellow by a Sharia Court in Kano 4 blasphemy,” a Twitter user, @MalachyOdo1, had said. “He doesn’t want to offend the extremists whose votes he needs 2moro. A pity.”
