Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, this afternoon, declared a 24-hour curfew in Sokoto metropolis after protesters took to the streets demanding the release of suspected killers of Deborah Yakubu.
According to a post on the verified Facebook page of the Sokoto State governor, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the governor, Muhammad Bello, said the decision was “in pursuance of peace and order in Sokoto metropolis and the entire state.”
There were reports earlier that there was pandemonium and fear in Sokoto metropolis as protesters in their hundreds trooped into streets to express their displeasure over the detention of two suspects arrested by the Police over the killing of Deborah Yakubu, a 200-level Home Economics student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, over alleged blasphemy.
Major streets such as Ahmadu Bello Way, Kano Road, where banks are located and Emir Yahaya Road, are currently deserted with business places and shops closed.
According to Leadership newspaper, the grouse of the protesters was Sultan Abubakar’s condemnation of the brutal murder of late Deborah Yakubu.
Unperturbed with the presence of security personnel in some strategic areas within the state capital, the protesters in their large numbers stormed Ahmadu Bello Way church line, where Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, ECWA and C&S churches are located.
Attempts by the protesters to set the St. Mary Catholic Church ablaze was also resisted by armed security personnel drafted to the area, who fired several cannisters of teargas to disperse the irate protesters.
More to come…
