A 25-year-old Christian student in Nigeria's Sokoto State was fatally beaten and then her body burned by her classmates on Thursday.
Authorities say her classmates at the Shehu Shagari College of Education were angry at a supposedly blasphemous message Deborah Emmanuel had sent to a school WhatsApp group.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC) Deborah who attended ECWA church and resided with her parents in Sokoto got into an argument with her female classmates after they interpreted the message as blasphemous.
A video of Deborah being beaten went viral on local social media channels in Nigeria and shows her lying still on the ground with her bloody left arm attempting to cover her head.
Students gathered around, beating her with sticks, throwing large stones, and shouting, "Allahu Akbar." In the video she is seen pleading with her classmates not to kill her.
A student from the school who spoke with ICC said, "Muslim students and teachers don't like Christians in the school." The student told ICC that school authorities tried to stop the students from attacking her, but failed.
A spokesperson for the Sokoto state command said two suspects were arrested in connection with the murder of the student.
The Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto said in a statement that it had closed the college indefinitely following the student rampage.
