Deborah Samuel Death: Catholic Bishop Spits Fire, Sends Message To Buhari

Following the lynching and burning of Deborah Yakubu Samuel, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Enugu State, Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah has sent a message to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Bishop Godfrey accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of deliberately crumbling Nigeria.

Deborah Samuel was a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State who was burnt to death over alleged blasphemy on Prophet Mohammed.

In his reaction, Ona lamented how violence, corruption and other vices have become culture and tradition in this part of the world.

The clergyman, who is angered by the realities in the country, expressed sadness over attacks on the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kuka.

In the course of the protest by Sokoto youths, churches and Kuka’s house were reportedly attacked over the arrest of suspected killers of the Deborah Samuel.

Bishop Onah lamented how Kuka who is the voice of the poor northerners is now the target of attack due to religious extremism.

“My dear friends, I must he honest with you. Today, I would have preferred to lock myself up in my chapel to pray and to weep for my nation where darkness has descended.

“To weep and pray for my church that is being folded out of existence in the world and Nigeria.

"To weep and pray for Deborah Samuel who was killed because she found herself in a part of the country where she thought was a home but not.

“To weep and pray for friend and brother, Bishop Mathew Kuka, the world acclaimed voice of the voiceless who has become a target by the same voiceless people who now see him as part of their problem rather than part of their solution.

“To weep and to pray for the poor miserable murderer of Deborah who have been left uneducated and unemployed deliberately so that they can be brainwashed, instrumentalised for the political end by religious bigots and political egoists.

“To weep and to pray for our political leaders under whose watch the country has crumbled and they look for who to blame on the mess which they have put all of us.

“I would have preferred not to be standing before you here now to tell you about love, the liturgy of today to reflect on the essence and meaning of Christianity, the love we should have for one another.

“But how can you preach love in a country where violence has become a rule?

"A country where corruption has become a norm and tradition, where impunity has become law, where the government feels so helpless that it is now appealing to religious leaders to talk to non-state actors not to make the security situation in our country worst.

"Those were the words of the Vice President when he spoke to all Bishops of Catholic Church in West Africa."