Buhari Blames Cattle Rustling In Plateau Attacks Which Over 200 Died

President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed cattle rustling and some unnamed politicians as responsible for the attacks on some Plateau communities that have claimed over 200 lives according to local witnesses.

On Sunday, Governor Simon Lalong declared curfew in Barkin Ladi, Jos South and Riyom local government areas.

Buhari in a statement on Monday by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, he decried how increasingly cheap human life was becoming in Nigeria.

“According to information available to the Presidency, about one hundred cattle had been rustled by a community in Plateau State, and some herdsmen were killed in the process. The state governor, Simon Lalong, had invited the aggrieved groups and pleaded against further action while the law enforcement agents looked into the matter. Less than 24 hours later, violence broke out,” the statement read.

The president further alluded to “a number of geographical and economic factors are contributing to the longstanding herdsmen/farmers clashes. But we also know that politicians are taking advantage of the situation. This is incredibly unfortunate.”

According to him, “Nigerians affected by the herdsmen/ farmer clashes must always allow the due process of the law to take its course rather than taking matters into their own hands.”

Buhari also noted that “some local thugs then took advantage of the situation, turning it into an opportunity to extort the public, and to attack people from rival political parties. There were reports of vehicles being stopped along the roads in the state, with people being dragged out of their cars and attacked if they stated that they supported certain politicians or political party.

“On his way back to Jos after attending the All Progressives Congress (APC) Convention in Abuja, the state governor had to dismantle a number of illegal road blocks set up by these thugs. There were also a number of dead bodies thugs had killed, lying along the road.”