Sokoto’s mob justice crisis

Sokoto, the birthplace of profound wisdom on the harmony between justice and religion, is catching the world’s attention for violating this sacred principle. Shehu Usman Dan Fodio, in his 1806 masterpiece Bayān Wujūb al-Hijra ‘ala’l-Ibad, eloquently stated, “A kingdom can withstand disbelief, but it cannot endure injustice.” Unfortunately, the place where he shared this thought has become the opposite of his wish, as exemplified by the tragic murder of Citizen Usman Buda on the grounds of blasphemy. 

When Citizen Deborah Yakubu, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, was lynched by a mob last year for her unwarranted and provocative comment on Prophet Muhammad while expressing disapproval of religious content shared by her Muslim classmates in a WhatsApp group intended for academic purposes, it sparked a range of polarising and alarming responses. Although the clashes were primarily based on differing perspectives, threats of violent assaults surfaced, even against those who agreed that blasphemy had no place in our society but believed that no citizen has the power to take the law into their own hands. 

The reluctance of those in positions of power to categorise Deborah’s death as murder, punishable by law, was due to the volatile nature of the location where the crime occurred. It didn’t take long before a segment of the clerics and their foot soldiers aligned themselves with the justification of the mob’s actions. This dangerous stance foreshadowed the repetition of such preventable tragedies. Deborah died without a chance to defend herself in court for a reason we all know. She died because past self-appointed punishers of blasphemers had gotten away with their crimes, as if we were living in anarchy. 

It was frightening to find ourselves in a country where both clerics and politicians found it dangerous to condemn the mob, afraid that it would diminish their relevance and illusion of safety. They lacked the courage to denounce the extrajudicial killing of a human being, even though both Islamic jurisprudence and secular law clearly reject vigilante justice, regardless of the mob’s feelings. Nobody deserves to be tried by a mob, and no one should be denied the right to defend themselves in a court of competent jurisdiction. It is a mistake to believe the words of a mob, even if there is recorded proof. These things can be doctored or manipulated by those with unrelated motives to harm the accused. 

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In light of the trending murder of Citizen Usman Buda, a Twitter user named Moh Usman recounted a personal experience that underscored the perils of placing trust in a mob. In 2012, he wrote, a man to whom his father had lent money “accused him of insulting the prophet” simply because the lender had asked for repayment since the business, for which the loan was taken, was flourishing. Disturbingly, familiar faces, including neighbours, were already gathering items to burn his father alive. Thankfully, a level-headed neighbour intervened and facilitated his escape, ultimately securing police protection for him. 

The notion that a mob can be rational and excused for taking another person’s life is an invitation to mass murder, war, and anarchy. Apart from the fact that those who suffer the consequences may reach a breaking point and seek revenge for these unlawful deaths, we live in an age where anyone’s voice can be fabricated using various artificial intelligence platforms to say blasphemous things. These recordings can then be used to incite a mob to target and kill. Establishing the truth in such cases requires a fair trial and giving the accused an opportunity to clarify or refute the charges. 

When Citizen Deborah was murdered, the political class remained silent, fearing that it would affect the outcome of the elections, which was less than a year away. They couldn’t condemn the extrajudicial killing of a citizen because it would jeopardise their electoral chances and popularity. Vice President Atiku Abubakar learned this the hard way when he dared to condemn the act and was subsequently bullied into retracting and deleting his posts on Twitter and Facebook. He was accused of doing too little to defend the honour of the Prophet, with his call for justice grossly misinterpreted. 

It is also not a coincidence that Citizen Buda’s murder has not received condemnation from influential figures in the country. They are not only afraid of becoming targets themselves but also of having their words distorted and used to fuel sectarian outrage or oppose their politics in the future. The only people polarised by these extrajudicial killings are ordinary citizens who have become philosophers of justice. 

As I mentioned elsewhere after Deborah’s murder, this cycle of killing alleged blasphemers will not stop unless the perpetrators are treated as murderers. Once they realise that it is a life for a life, they will think twice before taking another person’s life. Even mass murderers do not deserve to die without a fair trial, and yet those with the power to influence introspection or initiate legal proceedings against the murderers show little interest in preventing mobs from taking the law into their own hands. 

When Citizen Deborah was killed, even the state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, found himself opposed and demonised by influential clerics in the North when he took steps to ensure that the apprehended culprits would be held accountable in a court of law. His faith was questioned, as certain clerics labelled his pursuit of legal recourse as disgraceful. Regrettably, the latest update on the trial reveals a concerning development: the police, who are responsible for prosecuting the suspected killers, have been absent since the arraignment, resulting in the release of the suspects. 

In contrast to Governor Tambuwal, his successor, Governor Ahmed Aliyu, seems to have shown no concern for the injustice inflicted. He has rushed to deliver stern warnings to those accused of blasphemy, with no interest in the suspected killers. It is easy to see the politician’s ploy to escape his predecessor’s fate. However, there is no contradiction between promising to bring Citizen Buda’s killers to justice and cautioning his people against offending any religious group’s sensibilities. Governor Aliyu’s publicised lack of interest in uncovering the circumstances that led to Buda’s killing, which is said to have been provoked by a misunderstanding of his words, only serves as a green light for more self-appointed avengers of blasphemy and more mobs. 

Governor Aliyu’s performance is understandable, and it may seem like a safe option for his political future. One only hopes that he is prepared for the consequences of enabling mob justice in the space he has been elected to protect. Even the outspoken cleric from his state, Professor Mansur Sokoto, who previously justified the extrajudicial killing of Deborah, has been moved by the latest murder to reconsider his position on lynching blasphemers. He shared on his Facebook page, “What transpired in Sokoto was disheartening,” and emphasised that “The ignorant mob is in need of education, their teachers in need of wisdom, and the authorities must rise to stop jungle justice,” the same anarchy he endorsed barely a year ago. 

While it remains unclear what has prompted Professor Sokoto to backtrack on his previous stance, it is likely due to his realisation of the danger of flirting with or enabling a mob. Or perhaps, he has figured out what we have been saying all along—that he is just as susceptible to the swords of the blasphemers as any other citizen, since the latest victim is a Muslim. The day he utters a word that offends the mob or has his voice tampered with and used to create blasphemous audio, I hope he will be given the dock to explain and defend himself fairly. For Islam is a religion of justice. Happy Eid-ul Adha.