President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday 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.
Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, flayed what he called “unprovoked violence and counter-attacks on innocent people that had nothing to do with the cause of the violence”.
He also deplored 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 said.
Buhari said cycle of violence has no winners, urging 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.”
Buhari also cautioned 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.”
He commiserated with the families of the bereaved and the governments and people of Benue and Anambra States.
He urged them to put in every effort to apprehend perpetrators of the heinous attacks.
