Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate, claimed that the tweet he deleted condemning the killing of Deborah Samuel, a student who was killed for supposed blasphemy, was deleted because the tweet was circulated without his permission.
Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto student, Deborah, a Christian in 200-level, was slain by other students in May after reportedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Atiku was asked why he removed the tweet that denounced the incident during the Channels Television town hall meeting on Sunday.
In response, Atiku said, “I asked the tweet to be deleted because I normally approve every tweet and since I did not approve the tweet, I asked them to delete it. If you read my subsequent statement on that murder, I condemned it.”
Following Deborah’s murder, a tweet via Atiku’s verified page had read, “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered and all those behind her death must be brought to justice. My condolences to her family and friends.”
A few hours after the post, Atiku deleted the tweet and took to Facebook to justify his actions.
Also, in a message on his verified Hausa page, the former Vice President distanced himself from the message. He also stated that any message on social media without the initials “A. A.” was not his.
“This evening I received information that a post was made that doesn’t agree with my orders. I use this to announce that any post without A. A. is not from me. May God protect us,” he wrote in Hausa language.
