The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned the gruesome murder of a Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel by religious zealots.

Samuel was lynched and set ablaze by her Muslim colleagues for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad.

The angry mob stormed her hostel, dragged the deceased out before beating her to death and setting her body ablaze.

CAN’s General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, in a statement, said the unlawful and dastardly action of the perpetrators must not only be condemned by all right- thinking people.

He said security operatives must fish them out, prosecute them as it is expected of them.

CAN said it is the failure of the security agencies and the government to rise up to such criminalities in the past that gave birth to terrorists and bandits.

It stressed that as long as the state fails to bring these beasts and criminals amidst us to book, so also the society will continue to be their killing fields.

CAN hailed the swift reaction of the Sultan of Sokoto, MuhammDu Sa’ad Abubakar 111, who not only condemned the criminal and religious intolerant action but called on the security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.

CAN urged Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal to ensure the matter is not swept under the carpet like previous incident.

CAN said: “We also call on all teachers and preachers of religious intolerance, extremism and terrorism to repent before the wrath of God descends on them if the State failed to bring them to book. They are agents of death amidst us.

“We recall the provocative and demeaning advertisement of the Sterling Bank where the bank compared the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to “Agege bread”, up till now, nobody was attacked and even the CAN leadership has accepted the apology tendered by its Chief Executive, Abubakar Suleiman. Killing for any God in the name of blasphemy is ungodly, satanic, foolish, reprehensible and totally unacceptable. This is not a Stone Age and Nigeria is not a Banana Republic. Nigeria remains a non-religious State where no religion is supreme to the other.

“We acknowledge and commend the restraint of the Christian students of the College who refused to embrace self-help and reprisal attacks on those who murdered their colleague. It is our prayers that those vampires in religious garments will not push the country to a religious war.

“This is why both the government and the security agencies must stop treating them with kid gloves. Enough is enough”.