President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the recent rise in ritual killings and deadly attacks against on-duty policemen and ethnic minorities in some parts of the country.
A statement by the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, says the President is reaction to such incidents reported in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Zamfara, and Ogun States.
He stresses that incidents of ritual killings, hate crimes, and killing of law enforcement officers are aberrations.
In expressing the sympathy of the nation to families of all the victims, President Buhari urged law enforcement agencies, state governments, local authorities, community, and religious leaders to take lawful actions to prevent further occurrence of such incidents.
The President urges them to put in place measures against the normalisation of such primitive acts, hate crimes, and acts of terror.
President Buhari emphasises that killings in the name of rituals, political agitation, and tribal hatred are not in keeping with the tenets of religion, civilised, and enlightened cultures, adding that no person has the right to take the law into their own hands.
He re-emphasises the need for Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper and should see any kind of attack on any citizen, as an attack on the very essence that keeps them as a nation.
Meanwhile, President Buhari commends the government of Abia State for the actions 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 expresses his sympathies to the families of those killed and suffered loss of property following the attacks.
Abdullah Bello