‘Pay Killer Herdsmen With Good,’ Osinbajo Tells Benue People

‘Don’t pay evil with evil…pay evil with good,’ these were Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s words to the family of slain victims of the Herdsmen attack that reportedly left over 50 people dead in Benue State.

Osinbajo said this on Sunday during the commemoration service of the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.

At the event, the Vice President warned that the savage killing of residents of Logo and Guma Local Government Areas by suspected Fulani Herdsmen must not be politicised.

Osinbajo warned of politicians who may want to benefit politically from the killings by pouring “petrol into already burning fire.”

He said, “We recognise that as dangerous and deadly, as heartless as these killings are. It is also dangerous to allow politics to play a part and to sometimes, as they say, pour petrol into already burning fire.

“We must not permit the politicisation of this tragedy. One of the reasons why, for years, Boko Haram thrived, was because of the politicisation of the insurgency.

“There were those who were planning to benefit politically from the tragedy and they painted the opposition then as the perpetrator.

“Again, we have seen some today who want to benefit politically. The killing of women and children in Adamawa, Benue, Jos and several other places, stoking the embers of ethnicity and religion.

“By their hate speeches, they want to fix the criminal acts of a few individuals on the whole tribe and a whole people and will want to create religious crisis if we allow.

“Our obligation is to stop them from playing dangerous politics that could threaten our unity and stability, just as we continue to enforce the peace in the troubled area.”