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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned in strong terms the rise in ritual killings and deadly attacks against policemen on-duty and ethnic minorities, with the latest incidents reported in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Zamfara and Ogun States.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari said incidents of ritual killings, hate crimes, and killing of law enforcement officers are aberrations.
The President, while expressing the sympathy of the nation to families of all the victims, urged law enforcement agencies, state governments, local authorities, community and religious leaders to take all lawful actions to prevent further incidents of this nature, and to put in place measures against the normalization of these primitive acts, hate crimes and acts of terror.
“I condemn these dastardly acts of violence and pray for the souls of the departed,” he said, adding that the courts of the land must apply “the strictest of punishment under our laws to the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.”
According to President Buhari, “killings in the name of rituals, political agitation and tribal hatred are not in keeping with the tenets of our religions and of the civilized and enlightened cultures we are all claiming to be”, adding that “no person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands.”
He reemphasized the need for all Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper and should see an attack, be it verbal or physical on anyone, as an attack on the very essence that keeps us as a nation.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has commended the government of Abia State for the actions it has so far taken on the incident a few days ago against traders at the New Cattle Market, in Ukwa Local Government Area of the state and appealed for calm. He also expressed his sympathies to the families of those killed and suffered loss of property following the attacks.
