Backlash as Atiku deletes tweet condemning gruesome murder of female student in Sokoto

Former Vice-president and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has deleted a tweet made on his verified Twitter account, condemning the dastard murder of a female student at the College of Education, Sokoto, Sokoto state, thus triggering off a controversy around him.

The tweet was made 20 minutes after midnight on Friday, May 13, 2022, but was pulled down and replaced with tweets about his consultations with PDP delegates in Minna, Niger state.

The young lady, Deborah Yakubu, was horrendously stoned to death and burnt by some irate Muslim students, over what they claimed as blasphemy against their faith.

Atiku’s tweet which had been inexplicably deleted read: “There cannot be a justification for such a gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind the death must be brought to justice. My condolences to her family and friends.”

Advertisement

Atiku’s Twitter account has 4 million followers, while his Facebook page has one million followers.

Screenshot of the tweet which was made at 12.20 am on Friday, indicated that it had already been retweeted 526 times and liked 1,625 times before it was curiously deleted.

The political tweet that replaced the contentious tweet read: “The crowd that welcomed me into the hall of the PDP secretariat in Minna earlier today was impressive, and the energy they exuded was enormous. I thank you all for the rousing reception. Delegates from Niger State showed much enthusiasm in my message of #OnePeople, #OneFuture and #OneCountry.”

Another tweet read: “I just ended a meeting with PDP FCT delegates. It was a continuation of the same warm embrace of our message of national unity and economic recovery. #OneNigeria.”

This development has elicited outrage in the social media where many commentators knocked the former Vice-president for chosing political expediency over speaking out against the barbaric act.

A WhatsApp group reaction by a retired Judge, Justice Roland Amaize to the development at once praised Atiku Abubakar’s statesmanship for condemning the killing of Deborah and went on to slam the purported subsequent deletion of the post containing the condemnation.

Retired Justice Amaize’s reaction in reproduced hereunder in extenso:

“Atiku Abubakar’s condemnation of the gruesome murder in a Facebook post is an act of statesmanship for which history should have ordinarily recorded him on the positive side, but his subsequent act of bringing down the post for fear of losing votes is not only an act of cowardice but also pointing to a man, who is self centered.

“He has accordingly lost the face of posterity that should have recorded him on the positive side of history.

“For those religious bigots who are condemning him over the post, thus justifying the gruesome murder, they each have a date with history.

“These maniacs, (the best way to describe them), often times play God and that is where they will derive their waterloo from.

“No one plays God and gets away with such obscenity. REASON: no one is God other than God Himself, the Creator of the universe and who alone gives life unto man.

“As for the Sokoto State Governor, Tambuwal and the Sultan of Sokoto, Nigerians should and must be interested in their views on this madness displayed by these animals who are masquerading as “students”.

“These two highly-placed men in Sokoto State, where this heinous act was committed, MUST therefore speak out; especially Tambuwal who is running about wanting to be President.

“It takes a statesman and not anyone with crudity as his hall/trademark, to lead a country, especially a diverse country like ours. He must by his reaction to this one murder too many demonstrate beyond mere matter of conjecture that he is a statesman, otherwise he becomes unfit for our Presidency.”