Life is precarious for non-Muslims in Kano: even the rumor of “blasphemy” against Muhammad can and will be taken as an offense for which death is the only punishment.

“Christian Woman Beheaded in Kano Over Blasphemy,” Breaking Times, June 3, 2016:

A Christian woman trading in plastics at Kofar Wambai Market in Kano was yesterday beheaded by irate youths for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.

The woman of Igbo extraction was killed at about 4:30pm in the presence of her husband.

Sources said that because the deceased did not belong to any of the associations in the market made it difficult for any of the traders to contact security operatives to avert the disaster before she was hacked to death by the mob.

It was further learnt that immediately the market was about to close for the day, the late women, who was preparing to leave for home, suddenly saw some youths, armed with dangerous weapons, attacking and slitting her throat to the shock of other traders.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Kano Police Com­mand, DSP Musa Magaji, confirmed the incident.

He said: “At about 4 30pm, there was a disagreement between the late woman and some traders bordering on religion. The woman was said to have blasphemed Prophet Mohammed, which did not go down well with the traders.

“At that point, some irate mob descended on the woman and lynched her,” Magaji said.

He admitted that the women was in the company of her husband when the incident happened but the timely intervention of the police saved him, as he was immediately whisked to safety, adding that the remains of the woman had been deposited in the mortuary, “Investigation is in progress,” he stated.

But eyewitnesses claimed that the deceased was in the market to buy some items from her customer popularly known as Ustaz, who engaged her in a religious joke which the woman’s response was said to be blasphemous.

They said efforts to save the woman by trader who listened to the conversation failed as the mob overpowered them and beheaded the deceased….