Killings, ploy by selfish individuals to instigate war, says Buhari

By Ebelechukwu Chibuikem

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the killings in the north and other parts of the country as a premeditated strategy by certain unpatriotic individuals to cause war in the country.

The President who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in the wake of the Birnin Gwari killings in Kaduna State, deplore the killings describing it as unprovoked and unwarranted.

“I am deeply outraged by this unwarranted, unprovoked and reckless destruction of lives by bandits who belong to the lowest level of civilization. I feel the pains and devastation of the families of the victims, and this administration will do everything possible to ensure we defeat these enemies of humanity,” Shehu quoted the president as saying.

The President Buhari said security remained a priority for his government and his administration will not condone the mindless killing of innocent people “in order to set Nigerians against one another”.

“These persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are subterranean forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes. Although unconventional war is particularly complicated, our security forces are making rigorous efforts to better understand these enemies with a view to decisively checkmating their evil attacks,” President Buhari said.

The presidential spokesman disclosed that as part of measures to check the mindless killings, President Buhari has approved the setting up of a new battalion in the Nigerian Army and a Police Area Command Birnin Gwar Local Government Area.

He said the new army battalion and the Police Area Command are the latest in a series of law enforcement measures to ensure more effective protection of lives and property, in and around Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa States.

“Last week the Nigerian Air Force took delivery of two new helicopter gunships, for deployment to parts of the country affected by banditry. A Quick Response Wing has also been established by the Nigerian Air Force in Taraba State, while a Joint Military Intervention Force is fully on ground in Benue,” the statement said.

The president condoled with the families of the victims, the government and the people of Kaduna State assuring that his government will never abandon them to their fate.