Young adults, in their hundreds, have assembled at city gate, which leads to the Palace of the Sultan of Sokoto requesting for the release of students who were arrested for killing and burning the body of Debora Samuel, a Christian student, who was indicted of blasphemy.

The police in the state later announced the arrest of two of the suspects.

In a statement, Sanusi Abubakar, the police public relations officer in the state, said other suspects caught in the viral video on Twitter “will soon be nailed too.”

The protesters blocked motorists going in or out of the Kanwuri area, leading to the Sultan’s palace while others took over the road leading to the government house.

They hold placards with various inscriptions including: “Please, release our friends”, “Release them now

A native of Kanwuri Sarki area, Usman Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone that the protest was initially peaceful but later became brutal.

Because when they passed us sitting they were policemen following them. I learnt the policemen were supposed to stop them from doing anything stupid, but as more policemen came and tried to scatter them, they started throwing stones into the Sultan’s House calling him a hypocrite,” he said.

He added that the youth became furious and started burning tires on the road.

“You know, if not because of the security men at the Palace, the youth would have gained access into the main entrance because they were many. The policemen and civil defence officers halted them from getting closer to the gate,” Mr Abdullahi said.