President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the claims that he is indifferent to the killings being perpetrated by armed herdsmen in parts of the country because he is Fulani is handiwork of evil-minded people.
He wondered how anyone in their right minds would suggest that he will do any harm to the affected area which was where he got substantial votes that brought him to power.
Buhari said this while receiving members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) from the 19 northern states and Abuja at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said it was unfair for anybody to accuse his government of not doing anything to stop the killings.
He said, “When some (people), for clearly political purposes, attempt to suggest that this government is doing nothing about the killings, and that I, being Fulani, must be encouraging these satanic acts, it seems to me that there is no limit to the evil in the minds of men.
“Otherwise, how can anyone in their right minds suggest that I, as an elected President even with substantial votes in the affected areas, will for any reason do harm by an act of omission to those same people?
“Secondly, the problems in all these areas, as you all know, are historical. There is no administration that has not had to contend with killings in these same areas over the years.
“Indeed, in 2001, you may recall that after thousands were killed in Plateau State, a state of emergency was declared and a governor was replaced by an administrator. To suggest that our administration is doing nothing is terribly unfair.
“We must not forget that the same Plateau State which has been crisis-ridden for years has in the past three years been celebrated for its peacefulness. The governor’s hard work for peace and the presence of the military’s Operation Safe Haven must have had some impact.”
According to the President, the government had deployed extra special forces from the Defence Headquarters.
He also said that no fewer than three special military intervention forces were currently in the troubled zones.
These forces, he said, were supported with investigative and intelligence gathering capabilities from the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other agencies.
Buhari said the military and the police had arrested hundreds of suspects across the various flashpoints in the region and several prosecutions were ongoing.
He added, “The recent killings in Benue, Zamfara and lately Plateau are wicked, condemnable and completely unacceptable acts. We, Nigerians, are religious people and no religion or culture accepts the killing of people for any reason whatsoever.
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