In a show of solidarity, a total of 34 lawyers were in a Sokoto Chief Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning to defend Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, the two students who appeared in trending video as the masterminds of the lynching and burning of Deborah Samuel.
The defense team was led by Professor Mansur Ibrahim.
Deborah Samuel, a 200-Level Home Economics student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was lynched and burned by a mob of Muslim student fundamentalists last Thursday over alleged blasphemy.
However, the suspects, who were classmates of the deceased pleaded not guilty when their pleas were taken at Sokoto Chief Magistrate’s Court.
Inspector Khalil Musa told the court that investigations was in progress as Deborah’s corpse was still in a morgue at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
The leader of the defense team, Professor Mansur Ibrahim then applied for the bail of the suspects on liberal terms, citing constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The trial Judge (name withheld for security reasons), however, reserved the ruling on the bail application and ordered the accused to be remanded at a Correctional Centre.