Blasphemy: Customer, friends lynch, burn Lagos sex worker for keeping Quran in room

The Lagos State Police Command has charged three suspects to court for allegedly beating a prostitute, Hannah Saliu, to death and setting her corpse ablaze for keeping the Holy Quran in her room.

PUNCH Metro gathered that one of the suspects patronised Saliu and after having sex with her, he reportedly paid her N1,000 for the service.

The customer was said to have left her room when she suddenly discovered that her N5,000 had gone missing.

She reportedly ran after the customer and accused him of stealing her money.

The accusation, however, degenerated into an argument.

The customer was said to have mobilised his friends to Saliu’s room to search for the missing money.

While searching the place, the friends reportedly found a Quran underneath her pillow.

A source said Saliu was questioned for possessing the Quran with the kind of job she was doing, adding that the customer and his friends, who became infuriated by the discovery, pounced on her, beat her up and set her ablaze.

The source said, “What happened was that the girl was a prostitute and a customer patronised her and after sleeping with her, the customer paid N1,000 for her service.

“But when the customer was leaving, he stole the prostitute’s N5,000 and after discovering that her money had gone missing, the prostitute chased him to ask for her money.

“The Northerners, who were with the customer that the girl accused of stealing her money, asked if she was sure that he stole her money. So, they decided to go and search her room where she attended to her customers.

“While searching the room, they found Quran under her pillow and started asking what she was using the Quran for as a prostitute. So, they started attacking her; they stabbed her, took her out and set her ablaze.

“The incident happened at Alaba Rago, where a lot of Northerners reside. The girl that was killed also came from the North. Their grouse was that she was not supposed to be carrying Quran because of the kind of work she was doing.”

The state Police Public Relations, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The case is at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, and three suspects have been charged to court. The incident happened in April.”

A source identified the suspects as Abubakar Musa, Sarauta Monsur, and Surajo Yusuf.

PUNCH Metro had reported that a second-year student of Home Economics at the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Deborah Samuel, was lynched by fellow students over an allegation of blasphemy.