Nigeria: Angry crowds set a man on fire after 'argument with a cleric'

On Saturday, Nigerian police reported that an angry mob of people set a security guard on fire after the latter got into an argument with a Muslim cleric.

It was not immediately clear whether the killing in the Lugbe district of Abuja was linked to the blasphemy that has recently fueled religious tensions in Nigeria.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that a 30-year-old security man named Ahmed Othman "entered into an argument with a cleric (teacher) from the same area, whose name is still unknown."

She added that "the heated debate turned into violence that led to Ahmed Othman being set on fire and killed by an angry mob of about 200 people who were moved by the cleric."

Police said, according to "AFP", that order has been restored in the area.

The country is often witnessing conflicts on a sectarian background.

Blasphemy is a very sensitive issue in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, which is divided between a predominantly Christian south and a predominantly Muslim north.

Blasphemy is punishable by death under Islamic law, which is applied alongside common law in northern Nigeria.

But in some cases, defendants are killed by people without due process.

Last month, a group set homes and shops on fire in the northern state of Bauchi, after a "blasphemous message spread on social media", said local police spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Wakil.

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