President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday mourned the victims of terror attacks in Borno and Katsina States.
Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, vowed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
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He said Nigerians must come together in defiance of those who would seek through terror and violence to divide them along religious, political or ethnic lines.
He said the attacks on artisanal miners and farmers for survival were evidence that the terrorists and bandits had been backed into a corner.
Buhari said: “Today, Nigeria is in mourning for the senseless loss of lives seen in Borno State and Katsina State over the last 48 hours.
“President Muhammadu Buhari holds the victims in his thoughts and his prayers.
“The perpetrators will be brought to justice-and they’re running scared.
“56,000 Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists have surrendered to the authorities in a year and still counting.
“That these terrorists and bandits have been reduced to scavenging from our artisanal miners and farmers for survival is evidence that they’re backed into a corner.
“This will be small comfort to the family members and loved ones of those murdered this week. But it’s in times like these that we must be at our strongest….
“And so while we’re in mourning for those we’ve lost, let’s face these cowards already fading in strength, number and willpower as one.
“Let’s show them that Nigerians will not be swayed by terror. Let’s show them that Nigerians will not be divided. Let’s show them we’ll not be defeated.”