Sex worker lynched, set ablaze in Lagos for ‘keeping Quran in her room’

Hannah Saliu, a woman identified as a sex worker, has been reportedly lynched for allegedly keeping the Quran in her room, in Lagos state.

The incident was said to have happened at Alaba Rago axis of Ojo LGA of the state.

According to The Punch, the deceased was killed after a disagreement with a man who patronised her for sex.

The newspaper reported that the man reportedly paid N1,000 to Saliu for her services, but after he left the room, the deceased discovered that her N5,000 was missing.

The deceased was said to have accosted the man and challenged him for stealing her money — a development which snowballed into a spat.

During the scuffle, the customer reportedly mobilised his friends for a search of Saliu’s room for the missing money.

While they were searching for the money in Saliu’s room, they reportedly found the Quran under her pillow.

Angered by the discovery, the customer and his friends reportedly challenged the deceased for keeping the Quran despite the nature of her work, and subsequently beat her to death and set the corpse ablaze.

“What happened was that the girl was a prostitute and a customer patronised her and after sleeping with her, the customer paid N1,000 for her service,” the newspaper quoted a source.

“But when the customer was leaving, he stole the prostitute’s N5,000 and after discovering that her money had gone missing, the prostitute chased him to ask for her money.

“The northerners, who were with the customer that the girl accused of stealing her money, asked if she was sure that he stole her money. So, they decided to go and search her room where she attended to her customers.

“While searching the room, they found Quran under her pillow and started asking what she was using the Quran for as a prostitute. So, they started attacking her; they stabbed her, took her out and set her ablaze.

“The incident happened at Alaba Rago, where a lot of northerners reside. The girl that was killed also came from the north. Their grouse was that she was not supposed to be carrying the Quran because of the kind of work she was doing.”

The Lagos police command has charged three suspects to court for the alleged killing of the deceased.

In May, the Lagos state government issued a 14-day eviction notice to the occupants of Alaba Rago market, saying the market has become criminals’ den.

The eviction notice angered some traders who were from northern region of the country and they instituted a suit against the state government.

Over the past few weeks, Lagos has witnessed a spate of mob killings.

In May, David Imoh, a sound engineer, was lynched in the Lekki axis of the state and two men were also set ablaze over phone theft in the Ijesha area of the state.