“She left home in search of knowledge. She never returned home,” a witness said.
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation of the killing of a teacher and mother of five by a mob in Kaduna State, on Sunday.
Witnesses said the victim had left her home in New Mararaban Jos to attend an Islamic lecture at Madrasat Tashiyhul Iman, a school founded by Islamic scholar Malama Mardiyya in the old Mararaba area.
According to the accounts, Ms Ummulkhairi had stopped to ask some children for directions to the venue when some women reportedly accused her of attempting to kidnap the children.
She was subsequently taken to the local police station.
Witnesses said relatives, community leaders and Islamic scholars later arrived at the station and identified her as a respected teacher.
However, tensions continued to rise as a crowd gathered outside the station.
According to witnesses, efforts by family members, scholars and community leaders to calm the situation failed.
The crowd allegedly seized the woman from the police, killed her and set her body ablaze in front of the station.
A motorcycle belonging to one of the people who reportedly attempted to intervene was also burnt.
In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International condemned the killing and called for a thorough investigation.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns the horrific mob killing of Malama Ummulkhairi, a mother of five, at Mararaban Jos community along Kaduna-Zaria highway on 21 June 2026,” the organisation said.
The rights group also urged the police to investigate allegations that police officers handed the victim over to the mob.
“Eye witnesses told Amnesty International that as a large crowd invaded the police station, officers on duty brought the victim out and handed her to the crowd that killed her and set her body ablaze,” the organisation said.
“If true, this is a clear indication of the failure of law enforcement.”
Amnesty International described the incident as part of a growing pattern of mob violence across Nigeria.
“It is appalling that mob violence is gradually becoming the norm nationwide. It is largely meted out based on suspicion, rumour, or hearsay,” the organisation said.
The group warned that the increasing resort to jungle justice poses a serious threat to the right to life and reflects broader failures within the criminal justice system.
“The failure of law enforcement agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force, to prevent mob violence, manage and investigate such killings, and bring suspected perpetrators to justice, is empowering mobs to kill,” Amnesty International added.
The organisation called on authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible for the killing and ensure accountability for any public officials found to have failed in their duties.
The Kaduna State Police Command has yet to respond to the allegations raised by Amnesty International publicly.
