Nigeria: Two killed for insulting Prophet

Nigeria: Two killed for insulting Prophet

A riot broke out in Sumaila town in Kano State when a group of youths protested the circulation of a leaflet insulting Prophet Mohammad, according to the chairman of Sumaila Council area in the state, Zubairu Hamza.

DPA reported that Hamza briefed the Deputy Governor of the State Abdullahi Gwarzo, and said that the Sumaila police outpost and vehicles parked outside the building were destroyed,

Hamza said the young men trailed one of a group of non-Muslim students of the Government Secondary School suspected of being behind the distribution of the leaflet to the police station where he was taking refuge.

The violence broke out when police refused to surrender the man. Deputy Governor Gwarzo described the incident as unfortunate and gave an assurance that those responsible would be brought to justice.

He stressed that no religion condoned slandering of a prophet and urged the people of the town to expose any person who indulged in acts that could disturb the peace.

Police Commissioner Mohammad Yesufu later confirmed the arrest of 25 persons in connection with the riot, and added that two persons, not three as stated in earlier reports, had been killed.

A year ago 30 people were killed during a similar incident following the desecration of the Our'an by a female teacher in a state-run secondary school in Bauchi.

Many believe insulting the prophet of Islam has become a wide-spread phenomenon after the publication of Salman Rushdie's book, 'The Satanic Versus' in the UK and has gained momentum after the publication of blasphemous cartoons of the prophet in Denmark in 2005.