Eyewitnesses shared gory pictures of the incident with SaharaReporters which showed the middle-aged man covered with tyres and set on fire. The witnesses stated further that the youths contributed money to buy petrol to set Mai Ruwa ablaze.
Eyewitnesses shared gory pictures of the incident with SaharaReporters which showed the middle-aged man covered with tyres and set on fire. The witnesses stated further that the youths contributed money to buy petrol to set Mai Ruwa ablaze.
Another source told NEWSMEN that some youths had earlier dragged the deceased before Islamic clerics where he was asked questions. After the questioning session, the clerics reportedly told the crowd that Talle Mai Ruwa deserved to be killed. "The mum stood and watched while fire consumed Talle Mai Ruwa until he was reduced to ashes," he lamented. Some residents of the town told SaharaReporters that Talle Mai Ruwa had been going through unspecified type of mental illness. This is not the first time that people in northern Nigeria would be passing a death sentence on someone for alleged blasphemy.
In August 2020, a musician in Kano was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad. An upper Sharia court said Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, 22, was guilty of committing blasphemy in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March. Mr Sharif-Aminu did not deny the charges. Judge Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani said he could appeal against the verdict. Also in September 2020, the United Nations Children's Fund condemned the sentencing of a 13-year-old for blasphemy. Peter Hawkins, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, described as wrong the sentencing of Omar Farouk to 10 years in prison. Sharia law court found Farouk guilty of using "disparaging language against Allah" while arguing with a friend. Farouk is among many others who have been tried under Sharia law.