President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the killing of 11 people in Gwer West Local Government of Benue State and the reprisals on innocent people by mobs that blocked roads to unleash terror and violence.
“I totally condemn this latest unprovoked violence and counter-attacks on innocent people that had nothing to do with the cause of the violence,” the President says, according to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu.
Shehu said President Buhari also deplores the killing of 19 innocent people in Anambra State by mobs, saying that “in both cases innocent people were killed through no fault of theirs.”
“Violence on innocent people by anybody and any group is unacceptable and indefensible.
“Hate and bigotry have eaten so deeply and violate the sanctity of life. If we allow this culture of violence to go unchecked, such mobs would destroy law and order,” he says.
The President urges leaders of ethnic and religious groups “to play their own roles constructively in controlling their followers or members, in order to support the government’s efforts for sustainable peace.”
President Buhari cautions Nigerians against the “temptations of taking the law into their hands in the name of revenge because there are no winners in the cycle of violence, only losers.”
The President sends his commiserations to the families of the bereaved and the governments and people of Benue and Anambra States.
He also commends the police and other law enforcement agencies for their prompt response in averting the escalation of the violence, urging them to put in every effort to apprehend perpetrators of the heinous attacks.