Buhari Decries ‘Endless Bloodletting’ As Bandits Strike Again In Sokoto

President Muhammadu Buhari has decried what he called ‘endless bloodletting’ in the country with a vow to hunt down the perpetrators.

The president, in a reaction to the latest incident of bloodletting in Sokoto on Tuesday issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, said “This needless and mindless violence against innocent people cannot go unpunished.”

Bandits attacked two local government areas of Sokoto State early Tuesday morning,killing about 15 persons.

This came a few days after a similar attack on Gorony market in the state leading to the killing of about 120 persons.

Reports said terrorists came to the market and started shooting at every person they saw in the market.

It happened in one of the seven villages where residents are compelled by bandits to pay levies between N1 million and N20 million, agency reports say.

Reacting to the development, Buhari said the “endless bloodletting is too much,” and called on perpetrators to stop forthwith.

President Buhari warned that the persistent and unprovoked violence against unarmed civilians must be met with fierce response by the government.

He reassured Nigerians that his administration will not abandon them to their fate in the face of this existential challenge caused by banditry.

The president further stressed that the federal government will not tolerate a situation where criminals deprive the people of their means of livelihoods and turn them into beggars and refugees.

“The bandits are living in a fool’s paradise if they believe that they can’t be crushed. The criminals cannot be lucky always; they will ultimately meet their Waterloo. Evil cannot triumph over good no matter how long it takes,” he said.

According to him, more military hardwares are being procured for use by the armed forces while security surveillance is also being beefed up across the country.

He said: “We are taking delivery of military equipment to improve the capacity of our security forces to effectively deal with this issue.

“Our military is also deploying advanced technology to enhance surveillance and related operations to locate and crush these criminals and enemies of our common humanity.”