President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the recent upsurge in Fulani herdsmen related violence in the country and has ordered the police, the military, and the secret police, DSS, to “take all necessary action to stop the carnage”.
Buhari’s directive came on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 followed the latest attack, on Monday, in Ukpabi Nimbo, a community in Enugu State, where scores of people were murdered by armed Fulani militia, a Catholic church burn and hundreds forced to flee their homes.
In March, terrorist Fulani herdsmen attacked over 20 communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State killing 500 people, according to human rights activists who visited the community. Senator David Mark, a former senate president confirmed this account after a visit to the affected communities.
There has been an outcry by Nigerians over the president’s silence over the killings carried out by Fulani herdsmen. The president is Fulani. There have also been suggestions by pundits that Buhari is sympathetic to the terrorist herdsmen.
On Monday, Mr. Lai Mohammed, minister of information said that the government was working “silently” to resolve the crisis of Fulani herdsmen and the carnage they leave the communities they attack. The group has been named the 4th most deadly terrorist group in the world, after Boko Haram and ISIS.
In a statement Wednesday, signed by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, President Buhari said stopping the violence was now a priority for his administration and ordered that the culprits be brought to book.
Read the full State House statement below:
Following continuing reports of attacks by “herdsmen” on communities across the country, particularly Monday’s attack on Ukpabi Nimbo in Enugu State, President Muhammadu Buhari assures all Nigerians, once again, of his administration’s continued commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property in all parts of the country.
President Buhari unreservedly condemns the attack on Ukpabi Nimbo and other such acts of extreme violence against communities in other states of the Federation.
Acting on the president’s directive, the Inspector-General of Police and heads of the nation’s other security agencies are already taking urgent steps to fully investigate the attacks, apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Ending the recent upsurge of attacks on communities by herdsmen reportedly armed with sophisticated weapons is now a priority on the Buhari Administration’s agenda for enhanced national security and the armed forces and police have clear instructions to take all necessary action to stop the carnage.
In keeping with the president’s directive, the inspector-general of police, the general officer commanding the 82nd Division of the Nigerian Army, and the director of the Department of State Security in Enugu State have visited Ukpabi Nimbo to personally oversee investigations into the attack on the community and ongoing efforts to apprehend the culprits.
Meanwhile, President Buhari is scheduled to meet with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi later today to receive further briefing on the attack on Ukpabi Nimbo and discuss additional measures to forestall similar attacks and restore public confidence.
The president urges all Nigerians to remain calm and assured of his administration’s readiness to deploy all required personnel and resources to remove this new threat to the collective security of the nation.
