Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has vowed that no one involved in the lynching of Ummulkhairi Aliyu will escape justice, saying the Kaduna State Government is pursuing arrests, investigations and prosecutions to ensure accountability for the killing and deter future acts of mob violence.
Ummulkhairi Aliyu, an Islamic teacher, was lynched by a mob in the Maraban Jos area of Kaduna State after being falsely accused of child theft. The attackers beat her to death and set her body ablaze before any investigation had begun.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS (Prime Time) on Tuesday night, Governor Uba Sani said more than 100 suspects had been arrested in connection with the killing, with 41 already charged with culpable homicide, another 41 still under investigation, and 30 facing charges for unlawful assembly.
“The very unfortunate incident that happened precisely about two weeks ago that involved a very innocent woman. Ummulkhairi—she is an Islamic teacher. Of course, she was murdered innocently by some very disgruntled elements within the axis of Maraban Jos in Kaduna. Of course, I can assure you, since the incident happened, the Kaduna State government under my leadership has taken very drastic action. As we are speaking, about 100 or more than 100 people have been arrested. Out of them, 41 have already been charged with culpable homicide, as we are speaking. Another 41 are still going through investigation—it’s still ongoing—and of course, 30 have also been charged for unlawful assembly.
“We are not taking anything for granted. And nobody will go scot-free, definitely, in Kaduna. We will go down to ensure that whoever is involved, justice is done for Ummulkhairi, her family, and most importantly, to be a deterrent for anyone that will dare try to do something like this in the near future or in the future,” he assured.
The governor said he had expanded the scope of the investigation beyond the mob suspects, disclosing that he reported the matter to the Inspector General of Police and that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Maraban Jos had been transferred and was under investigation over allegations raised by the victim’s family.
“When this thing happened, for me, the first thing I did was to look at the whole issue holistically. Not only the people that were involved. First thing I did was expanding the level of investigation. I reported the issue also to the Inspector General of Police, I met him, we discussed. And now, of course, the DPO of that very area has since been transferred. He’s going through investigation himself. Because when I met the family of Ummulkhairi, apart from the people that were involved, there were also some allegations from the family against the DPO, who is the police officer in charge of Maraban Jos,” he revealed.
Sani said no one had been exonerated in the ongoing investigation, stressing that all those found culpable, including any police personnel linked to the incident, would face the full weight of the law.
“I believe nobody can be exonerated at this critical time. We need to investigate this issue holistically. And that is the reason why I reported to the Inspector General of Police, and I made it clear to him that everyone, including the police that were involved in that divisional office, must be thoroughly investigated. So, as I’m speaking with you, nobody is exonerated. And I can assure you that we will ensure that justice prevail at the end of this investigation,” he vowed.
Responding to concerns that the lynching reflected a loss of faith in state institutions, Sani rejected attempts to link the incident to public frustration, insisting that no level of hardship or anger could justify taking another person’s life.
“It depends on how you look at this issue because that’s why I said we must be careful in politicizing this issue. It’s not as easy as you think. For me, the more we continue to politicize this issue and now try to blame this on the issue of frustration by people, it is trying to simplify the whole issue.
“For me, it’s not like someone thinking he can take the law into his hands. It has nothing to do with frustration. You can be frustrated, but you have no right to take someone’s life. That is the most important thing. So for me, I refuse to allow this issue to be reduced to frustration. That is why we are going to take a very drastic action to be a deterrent for anyone,” he stressed.
Credit: Arise News
