SOKOTO, NIGERIA – Monday, May 12 marks three years since radical jihadists in Nigeria murdered a 22-year-old Christian woman, and new first hand testimony is shedding light on her final moments.
However, the Nigerian Department of State Services detained the three journalists today for about four hours after publishing the new report.
Deborah Emmanuel’s story first made international headlines when a violent Muslim mob beat her to death in 2022. Journalists identified her as a victim of a so-called “blasphemy” murder in the capital of Nigeria’s Sokoto state.
Judd Saul, the founder of Equipping the Persecuted and executive director of TruthNigeria, emphasized the importance of telling Deborah’s story.
“The silencing of journalists and the detention of our reporters by the Nigerian DSS is not just an attack on press freedom,” said Saul.
“It is an attack on the truth itself. While Christian communities are being slaughtered across Nigeria, those who dare to report the facts are being treated like criminals. We demand that the international community hold the Nigerian government accountable for this blatant use of power.”
Deborah did not die alone, according to a newly-published piece from Truth Nigeria.
For context, on May 11, 2022, Deborah was a young home economics student in Nigeria. Once she finished up school, she was planning to join the police force. In a group chat with classmates, she expressed gratitude to Jesus Christ for helping her succeed in her studies. Her Muslim classmates in the group chat pushed back, accusing her of insulting the
Prophet Mohammed, but she stood by her Christian beliefs. The next day, a mob came to her campus dormitory to retaliate.
Asabe Sabitu Kdada was Deborah’s classmate and cousin at Shegu Shegari College in Sokoto on the day of the murder. The mob also attacked her. The two students were trapped in a utility building at the entrance of the college for hours while police stood nearby, refusing to stop the mob of Muslim students who repeatedly stormed the building. Asabe was eventually able to escape.
Eyewitnesses say what they saw that day contradicts the claim from authorities that they attempted to rescue Deborah, but were “overwhelmed.” An eyewitness told a reporter that the police “could have stopped the murder if they had really tried.”
Deborah’s cousin Asabe said her last words were, “what time is it?”
“I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again, but I want to live a life that tells the truth about her,” said Asabe. “She didn’t die because she insulted anyone. She died because she was a Christian girl in a place where that is a crime.”
“Deborah Emmanuel was not just a victim—she was a young woman with a future, a dream to serve her country as a police officer, and a fearless witness for Christ,” said Saul. “The world must not turn away. The persecution of Christians in Nigeria is real, it is intensifying, and it demands action.”
Nigerian police have yet to identify nor arrest any suspects in the deadly attack.
“The Nigerian government refuses to apologize for a flagrant human rights atrocity,” said Douglas Burton, an award-winning journalist covering Deborah’s story. “No Nigerian court has tried the murderers of Deborah.
There were hundreds of witnesses, and 17 federal police stood 80 yards away without intervening. Despite obvious malfeasance of authorities, no officials have apologized to the parents of Deborah Emmanuel or offered reparations.”
Unfortunately, this is part of a larger trend in Nigeria, where Islamic extremists brutally kidnap, torture, and murder Christians with little to no legal consequences.
Researchers at the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa recorded over 55,000 killings and mapped thousands of farm massacres and mass abductions in a four-year period. However, that number could be higher. On average, 17 Christians are killed simply for their beliefs every day in Nigeria.
Equipping the Persecuted continues to provide emergency aid, trauma support, and security training for Christians under attack across Nigeria. Meanwhile, TruthNigeria.com is committed to exposing the truth about religious persecution, including firsthand accounts like Asabe’s.
The post Nigerian Journalists Questioned, Detained for Reporting New Details About Murder of Christian Woman appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.