After demonstrators came to the streets in Sokoto, Nigeria, demanding the release of two suspects in the death of a Christian student last week, a 24-hour curfew was imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muslim students thrashed and burned Deborah Samuel on Thursday after accusing her of making “blasphemous” words about Islam in a WhatsApp group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muslims and Christians alike have decried her death across Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Demonstrators set fire to tyres and police sprayed tear gas on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For blasphemy, a Nigerian singer has been sentenced to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Nigeria, a blasphemy appeal is successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the demonstrators surrounded the palace of Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and Nigeria’s top spiritual leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sultan has condemned the murder at Shehu Shagari College of Education and asked that those responsible be brought to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Please, in the interest of peace, return home,” Sokoto Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said upon announcing the curfew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and the majority of its residents, both in the predominantly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south, are highly religious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Religious tensions and fatal battles are prevalent, especially in the north, where some states have enacted stringent sharia laws, which include death sentences for blasphemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Islam, blasphemy includes insulting or degrading aspects of the faith, as well as disputing any of its core beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n