Former President Goodluck
Jonathan has reacted to the claims by the presidency that 756 Nigerians were
killed under his administration.
Jonathan in a statement issued by
his media office on Thursday, described the statement as mischievous and false.
He blasted the special adviser on
media and publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina for trivalizing
such heinous crime.
He further condoled with victims
of Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa and Nasarawa states, over the recent spate of
killings by Fulani herdsmen.
The statement reads “Former
President Jonathan wishes to express his condolences to the government and
people of Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa and Nasarawa states, over the recent
spate of killings occasioned by herdsmen/farmers clashes.
“His heart bleeds for the
sufferings of Nigerians and he calls on the authorities to do everything in
their power to put an end to these needless killings.
“Having said that, let it be
known that we find the statement by the Presidency stating that 756 Nigerians
were killed by Fulani herdsmen in two years under the government of former
President Jonathan as a mischievous assertion by a callous Presidential
spokesman who thinks that death is something to be trivialized.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let
it be known that the figure of 756 is wrong. But the issue is not that it is a
false figure, the issue is that former President Jonathan was not inactive in
the face of Fulani herdsmen killings during his Presidency.
“While in office, the former
President knew that the capacity of the Nigerian police would be challenged by
the sophistication of arms available to the herdsmen and so after he was
elected President and sworn in on May 29, 2011, former President Jonathan
summoned a National Security Council meeting and ordered that Fulani herdsmen
attack must be decisively dealt with.
“In July 2012, the Plateau state
government reported that herdsmen killings had reached a head in Barkin Ladi
Local Government Area leading to tens of deaths of Nigerian citizens by Fulani
herdsmen, many of whom were not even Nigerian citizens.
“Then President Jonathan, when
briefed about the situation insisted that there would not be such impunity
under his leadership and immediately ordered the army and the Air Force to go to
the affected communities and fish out the perpetrators and bring them to book.
“The military immediately obeyed
the then President’s orders and sent troops and helicopters to Barkin Ladi
Local Government Area. They ordered all residents to leave their residence for
temporary accommodation provided for them so they could conduct a joint air and
ground operation to flush out the armed herdsmen who had been suspected of
killing innocent Nigerians.
“The residents complied and the
soldiers went in and not only did they clear the area, they made arrests which
led to trials and convictions.
“We wish to remind Nigerians that
when this episode was being carried out, it was precisely members of the
opposition who later became the All Progressive Congress that heavily
criticized then President Jonathan’s orders.
“In fact, a prominent member of
the APC and now the Governor of Kaduna State and a known confidante of the
President, Malam Nasir El-Rufai tweeted his now infamous tweet on the 15th of
July 2012 threatening that “We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier
or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long
it takes.” (his exact words).
“So the question Nigerians need
to ask instead of allowing themselves to be distracted by the statement from
the Presidency is this: Are Nigerians now repaying the ‘loan’ that El-Rufai
threatened to make Nigeria repay?
“If the then President was not
active in decisively sending the military after herdsmen, why would El-Rufai
have been so pained to have made such a statement? Let it be known that the
former President views herdsmen who kill unprovoked and with the intention of
advancing their own economic and other interests as terrorists, pure and
simple. Not only did he treat them as terrorists, he also put the military on
high alert to protect Nigerian lives.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete