Tears flowed freely at the burial of Usman Buba, a butcher and Qur’an memorizer who was killed over alleged blasphemy in Sokoto on Sunday.

Usman was buried after a funeral prayer which was led by Sheikh Musa Lukuwa at the Mabera Juma’at mosque on Tuesday.

Buda was beaten to death following an argument over a religious matter at the Sokoto main abattoir.

His murder has continued to raise dust as some of the eyewitnesses refuted the blasphemous claim.

One of the eyewitnesses, Nuhu Bala, said Usman did not blaspheme the Holy Prophet as claimed by his murderers.

“Usman was only preaching to a beggar who was using the name of the Holy Prophet in soliciting for alms.

“Some of his colleagues misunderstood his preaching and started calling him a disbeliever, and that he had blasphemed against the Holy Prophet. They started stoning him and stabbing him with knives.

“We initially intervened and rounded him up but we were overwhelmed by them. We quickly informed the police but he was killed before their arrival,” he said

His father, Malam Abdullahi Buda said Usman had been the breadwinner of the family.

“If we ate, it was because of him. Anything we drank was because of him and now we lost him. My major concern is his six children who are very young, how can I take care of them.

“I am calling on Senator Aliyu Wamakko and the Sokoto state government to come to our aide because I cannot provide for his family,” Abdullahi, 80, said.

The Imam who led the funeral prayer, Sheikh Musa Lukuwa, appealed to the government of Sokoto state and security agencies to ensure the people behind the murder were brought to book.

“We want Justice for Usman because he was wrongly accused and murdered.

“The earlier something is done about it, the better because we will not allow the culprits to go score free.

“We will follow all the necessary avenue provided by the law to ensure Justice is done in his case,” he said

However, the spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmad Rufa’i, could not be reached for update about the case as his phone was switched off.

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