Many Nigerian Twitter users have taken a swipe against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for changing his stance on the killing of a female student in Sokoto State.
On Thursday, a group of students of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto had murdered their female coursemate over alleged blasphemy.
The school has since been shut down by the state government, while police had since arrested some of the suspects.
Reacting to the killing, Mr Atiku took to his verified Facebook page to condemn the lynching of the female student named Deborah Yakubu.
The now deleted post read: “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered and all those behind her death must be brought to book to justice.
A few minutes after the post, the former vice-president deleted the post, following a backlash against his stance.
Trolling the former vice-president, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, said Mr Atiku’s refusal to condemn the killing of Deborah & the withdrawal of an earlier condemnation is worse than the killing itself.
“By this @Atiku has murdered Deborah all over again & pissed on her grave. He has also encouraged other sociopaths to come out & commit murder with impunity,” Mr Fani-Kayode wrote.
One of the Twitter users, @mrmacaronii also said: “Atiku deleting the tweet condemning the gruesome murder of Deborah shows what we have been preaching this whole election season. Politicians don’t care for the people. They only play to the gallery when seeking for our votes. The people must see beyond these gimmicks…
Another user, @Morris_Monye, said: “Atiku was not really sympathetic Tried to appease the South, saw reaction from the North, deleted He feels it’s better not to offend the North than offend the South because Southerners are slaves and will vote for him anyways Our Politicians are the wickedest people on earth.”
Wondering why Mr Atiku deleted the post, For @TheFavoredWoman, said: “Why did @atiku delete this tweet? Did you change your mind about justice for Deborah? Did you change your mind about offering your condolences? Is it that you have now found justification for the gruesome murder?
For @simon_ekpa, the death & killing Deborah has exposed the dangerous diversity in Nigeria.
It has exposed @atiku exposed @ShehuSani and many more Muslims. I have said it, no real activists from the North. Nigeria is already divided, the only thing that bring The south & north together is corruption,” Mr Ekpa wrote.
Shehu Gazali sadiq said: “Atiku Abubakar deleted his tweet condemning the murder of Deborah In Sokoto because Muslims are threatening not to vote for him. His ambition is more important than human life. A vote for Atiku is a vote for islamists. But a vote for Peter Obi is a vote for humanists.”
Dr Dípò Awójídé said: “Such a good tweet from Atiku Abubakar condemning the brutal murder of Deborah Yakubu. It’s really embarrassing it was deleted, especially after his silence about the Pantami saga.”
