The Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) has condemned in strong terms the jungle justice meted out to Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto state.
The group in release says the excuse of committing a blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (SAW) is untenable describing such action as anti- Islam, barbaric and sad.
National President of MMPN, Abdur-Rahman Balogun in Abuja, described the case of mob killing of Deborah as a criminal offence in Islamic law.
According to him,, Allah says in Qur’an 5 verse 32 thus: … We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people…”
So the punishment for any offence in Islamic law is decided by a judge and no other member of the public has that jurisdiction.
He concluded that it is a criminal offence in the Shari’ah of Islam for anyone or any group to take the law into their hands.
Even if it is a crime committed against the state, it is when the specific punishment is prescribed in the Qur’an or Hadith, only a competent judge of a Shari’ah court is allowed to approve of the witnesses and evidence, and to give the sentence for the execution of the appropriate punishment.
In essence, anyone who takes the law into their hands is a criminal that should be punished for their crime.
It is in this light that we commend the immediate action of the Sultanate Council and His Eminence Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar for condemning the criminal act and call for calm pending the outcome of the investigation panel set up by the Sokoto state government.
As a body of Muslim Media Practitioners, we join all others to condemn this barbaric act and call for immediate justice on any individual or group of people found guilty of perpetrating this dastard act.
This is so because if any individual or group is permitted to judge and execute punishments on their own without recourse to the constituted authority, there will be nothing but jungle justice and anarchy on the land.