No fewer than eight persons have been burnt to death by a mob in Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara in Zamfara State after a student of the college was alleged to have committed blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The incident occurred monday when a male student was alleged to have committed blasphemy during an exchange of words with his friend, a Muslim adherent, which caused tension in the school.
After the altercation, the student was said to have fled to a house to hide, but the mob tracked him down and gained access to the house, following which they set the house ablaze along with seven other persons in the building.
The police in Zamfara confirmed the incident and immediately imposed an indefinite curfew on the town in a bid to restore peace.
The Police spokesman in the state, Shehu Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a statement yesterday, sternly warned any person or group of persons found violating the curfew, adding that such persons would be arrested and prosecuted.
The police also called on religious leaders in the state to counsel their adherents to embrace peace and eschew violence of any kind for peaceful coexistence to thrive.
The management of the polytechnic was said to have immediately closed down the institution to forestall further violence.
