Name Christianah Oluwasesin | ||
Died March 21, 2007, Gombe State, Nigeria | ||
Christianah Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin (first name also given as Christiana, last name also as Oluwaseesin, Oluseesin or Olusesan), (Ekiti State, 1977 – Gandu, Gombe State, 21 March 2007), was a Christian Nigerian teacher who was lynched by Muslim pupils for allegedly desecrating the Qur'an at a secondary school in Gandu, Gombe State, Nigeria, on March 21, 2007.
Oluwasesin, a mother of two, was assigned to supervise an Islamic Religious Knowledge exam. When one of the students wanted to enter the exam hall with his books, Oluwasesin collected them and threw them outside. The students claimed that one of the books was a copy of the Qur'an, started to chant "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) and chased her to the school principal's office. They dragged her out of the office, stripped her naked and stabbed her to death. They then burnt her corpse in a car, beat up the school principal, a Muslim, for offering refuge to her, and burned down three classroom blocks, the school clinic, the administrative block and the library. The marauding students were 12 – 14 years old and supposedly joined by members of a gang called Yan Kalare.
Gombe State Governor Mohammed Danjuma Goje ordered the immediate closure of all secondary schools in the state and the deployment of soldiers and policemen to strategic points in the state, especially churches. Three persons were arrested in connection with the murder. They were arraigned before the Federal High Court, Gombe, which had not yet delivered judgment on the matter in March 2008.