By Goodluck Ikiebe.
Parents of late Deborah Samuel.
The parents of the late Deborah Samuel of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, have described the death of their daughter as sad and painful, saying they have left her killers to God.
Our Correspondent recalls that the remains of Deborah were laid to rest in her hometown, Tungan Magajiya in the Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday evening.
She was stoned to death and set ablaze on Thursday by her fellow students for allegedly making a blasphemous statement on a WhatsApp group against Prophet Mohammed.
Reacting to the death of their daughter, the bereaved parents said they had nothing to say or do regarding the loss of their child, but had decided to leave everything in the hands of God.
According to reports, the father, Emmanuel Garba, a security guard with the Niger State Water Works Corporation at Tungan-Magajiya said, “We can’t say or do anything, except to take it easy as an act of God. We have left all to God, we have decided to take it like that.”
On who brought back the body of his deceased daughter from Sokoto State, the father explained that he went and brought back her remains to be buried.
“I personally went and brought back the body of my daughter to enable me to bury my own child. This is because keeping her in the morgue will not return her back.
“When I got there, I met government officials and made them understand the need to allow me to take her back home and they agreed with me. When we got to the morgue, those in charge asked me to sign the necessary documents and I did. They released the corpse to me.”
On who paid for the transportation, Garba, “I personally paid the sum of N120,000 to the driver out of many that refused to convey her back home and it is because of the condition of the remains. Most drivers we approached all refused except one.”
Confirming the call by the Sokoto State Government that the body of his daughter should not be returned home, the father of the deceased stated, “The government wanted me to leave the remains, when they called me, I said no, they should allow me to please, bury my daughter.”
Also, the mother, Mrs. Alheri Emmanuel, told the newspaper that Deborah was the second of their seven children, adding that it’s so sad to have lost her at such a young age.
On her medical condition, the mother of the deceased explained that she was stable now after being discharged from the hospital, where she was admitted upon hearing the news of the gruesome murder of her daughter.
Amid tears, Mrs. Alheri stated, “I have nothing to say, I am grateful to God and for your efforts. I have given God my heart and may God strengthen me. We have nothing to say.
“Because of what happened to me, I will no longer send my children to schools where so much money is involved.
Because of her education, the education of some of her siblings suffered as it is so difficult to care for them all at the same time. And, now things are difficult for us.”
Also, her elder brother, Nakaka Garba, when asked for his reaction, simply stated, “I have nothing to say, we are pained by what happened, but we have left all to God.”
On why their daughter answered Deborah ‘Samuel’ instead of ‘Garba’, the father further added, “she had been living with my brother since she was in primary school and had been using the name”.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
