Zamfara mob killed only Muslims - Gov Yari

Contrary to widespread rumours, the eight persons killed in a recent mob attack in Talata-Mafara, Zamfara State were all Muslims according to the state governor, Abdulaziz Yari.

It has been widely circulated in the social media that the victims were Christians, probably because the killings were triggered by an alleged blasphemous statement against Prophet Mohammed.

Addressing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Yari described the mob action as a devilish act and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“From the intelligence I had from the security agencies, there was a fight between two students and I think one of them injured the other and started shouting that the other person abused Prophet Muhammad.

“Other students came and beat up the other boy who is Yoruba from Kogi State. Some people are saying he was a Muslim and some say the boy was a Christian. They beat the student until he collapsed and thought he was dead.

“Then security personnel requested help from one shop owner who then took the boy to the hospital in his car. When the students heard that the boy was still alive and in the hospital, they went to the hospital. But the boy was rescued by soldiers in the hospital.

“Then the students went back to the polytechnic and burnt down the shop of the person who gave his car to rescue the boy.

“They went back to town again and, as you know, the police in the division don’t have enough men to contain the riot and before reinforcement came, the crowd threw tyre in the man’s house and burnt down the house.

“That was how everybody in the house was killed and all the people killed in the House were Muslims and not like the rumours going around in the social media that Christians are being killed in Zamfara.

“In fact, the mob wanted to go and burn churches and attack non-Muslims but the security forces stopped them. It’s my home town and that’s where I live.

“The government will not take this lightly, people taking laws into their hands. If you say the punishment of who abused Prophet should be killed, and you now kill innocent people, knowing there is a government, laws and courts in place.

“So why should someone take laws into his hands? So definitely all the culprits will be brought to book,” he said.