Amnesty International has condemned the killing of a butcher, identified as Mallam Usman Buda by religious extremists in Sokoto State, for blasphemy.

The international human right advocacy organisation urged the Nigerian government and authorities at all levels to ensure that perpetrators of the dastard incident are punished severely, to forestall reoccurrence in the future.

Read: Irate extremists in Sokoto maim Butcher to death for blasphemy

The victim whose occupation was a butcher, was accused of blasphemy against the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammed (PBUH), by his fellow traders, which led to altercation between him and his accusers, resulting to him being attacked by religious extremists mob.

The incident occurred on Sunday, June 25, at metropolitan abattoir in Sokoto State.

The Sokoto state Police Command confirmed the incident through its spokesperson, ASP Ahmad Rufa’i, who said the mob had already dispersed before the arrival of the police.

He said that the police met the victim severely injured and unconscious and had rush him to the Usmanu Danfodiyo Teaching Hospital in Sokoto for treatment, where he later died.

While condemning the incident, the acting Nigeria director of Amnesty International, , Isa Sanusi, said the killing of Buda was a serious crime and pleaded to the government to investigate the ‘horrifying’ incident and bring the killers to justice.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns the killing of Usman Buda today at a market in Sokoto over alleged blasphemy. Nigerian authorities must immediately investigate this horrifying incident and ensure that those suspected of being responsible are brought to justice,” Sanusi stated.

According to Sanusi, the “alarming uptick in blasphemy killings and accusations underscores the urgency with which the authorities must wake up to Nigeria’s international legal obligations to respect and protect human rights, including freedom of religion, opinion, and expression.”

The country amnesty head said the accusation of blasphemy and the jungle justice that accompanied such accusations need no further proof to jolt government to the reality and severity of punishment such crimes should attract. He said accusation of blasphemy has led to several jungle killings, to the extent of villages and communities being wiped out.

Sanusi affirmed that, “By failing again and again to ensure that those suspected of responsibility of killing(s) over alleged blasphemy are brought to justice, the Nigerian authorities continue to create a permissive environment for brutality.”