Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has distanced himself from a tweet criticizing the murder of Deborah Samuel, a Christian 200-level student at Sokoto’s Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was killed for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad.
Atiku, who is running for President on the Peoples Democratic Party platform, condemned the mob activity on Twitter, stating:
“There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered and all those behind her death must be brought to justice. My condolences to her family and friends.”
Some Muslim northerners, however, have warned not to vote for the former Vice President if the PDP nominates him for President.
READ MORE: Emefiele: Let Nigerians Have Heart Attack, I’m Having Fun
Despite the threats, Atiku later deleted the tweet.
In a comment on his verified Hausa profile on Facebook, the former Vice President distanced himself from the message. He also indicated that any social media messages that did not include the letters “A. A.” were not his.
“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 A. A. is not from me. May God protect us,” he wrote in the Hausa language.
The former Vice-decision President’s to remove the post has sparked outrage on social media, with him currently trending at number one on Twitter.
As of the time of writing this report, the majority of presidential candidates have declined to denounce Deborah’s death.
