Reports have it that thirty-four (34) lawyers showed up in court, May 16, to defend the suspected killers of Deborah Samuel.
It can be recalled that Deborah, a 200-level Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was beaten to death and burnt by her fellow students on the school premises on Thursday, May 12, over a ‘blasphemous’ voice message she sent to her department’s group chat.
Two key suspects, identified as Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, were arrested in connection with her murder, however, over the weekend, some Sokoto residents staged a protest in the state to demand for their release but their demand fell on deaf ears.
Well, the suspects were arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s court in Sokoto state Monday, May 16, and 34 lawyers came to defend them, PM News reports.
When asked to make their plea, they pleaded not guilty to the crime, after which the defense team, led by Prof. Mansur Ibrahim, applied for their bail on liberal terms, citing constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
However, the trial judge (name withheld for security reasons) rejected the bail application and ordered that the accused be remanded at a correctional center.