The General overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has suspended the Light Up crusade scheduled to hold physically in Sokoto from May 16 to 17, 2022.
According to Pastor Adeboye, the postponement followed the killing of a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The state has seen unrest over the arrest of two persons allegedly involved in the killing, forcing the governor Aminu Tambuwal to declare a curfew.
Pastor Adeboye, in a social media post on Monday, urged members of the church to join the crusade virtually.
“Postponed but God turned it around. We Trust In Our God’s Big Picture Plan! When God turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them in that dream.
“We serve a God who specializes in using the impossible situation for His glory,” Pastor Adeboye wrote.
In the wake of the killing, the Christian Association of Nigeria called for a nationwide protest slated for May 22 to demand justice for the slain Sokoto student.
Deborahl was laid to rest on Saturday in her hometown in Tunga Magajiya, Rijau LGA of Niger state.
Her remains were buried around 6:30 pm at the Christian cemetery in Tunga Magajiya.
Emmanuel Maaji, the uncle of the deceased who is a pastor at ECWA church, led the prayers before she was buried.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that a mob killed Deborah over alleged blasphemy on Thursday.
Videos of the late student being stoned and beaten with sticks were shared on social media.
Her killing had sparked outrage across the country, with Nigerians asking the government to fish out the perpetrators of the crime.
There was also a flurry of condemnation from civil society organisations (CSOs), Muslim leaders and groups, most notably Muhammadu Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto.
The police command in Sokoto had also announced the arrest of two suspects in connection with the killing.
On Saturday morning, some Muslim youths in Sokoto took to the streets to protest the arrest of the suspects.
The protesters were armed with placards that read: “Release our Muslim brothers”, “Muslims Are Not Terrorists”, and “Peaceful riot”.
