PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the killing of United States Embassy officials and some policemen during an attack by gunmen in Anambra State.
The President commiserated with the families of the victims, as well as those of several Nigerians killed in the Bwoi District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where gunmen killed dozens.
He extended similar sympathy to relations of villagers murdered in Adaka village in Makurdi Local Government and in the Ijaha community of Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, where a report said nine people died.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari said on Thursday, May 18, that he was deeply pained by the gruesome deaths.
“We share the grief of the American Embassy, the Nigeria Police Force and our communities in Plateau and Benue and remain committed to fishing out the perpetrators of the attacks and bringing them to justice.
“May God give their families the strength to bear the unfortunate losses,” the President said in what has become a regular rhetoric throughout his eight years in office.
The ICIR reports that the President failed to speak on similar tragedies which occurred on May 12 in the Gitata district of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, where 40 farmers, including women and children, were reportedly mowed down by suspected herdsmen.
Sources claimed the onslaught was an escalation of a similar attack on Tattara Mada and Angwan Barau communities in the Kokona Local Government Area in the state in April, where 20 persons reportedly died and property worth millions were destroyed.
In March 2022, The ICIR reported a timeline of Buhari’s condolences on tragedies that stemmed from insecurity in the nation within a year.
Nigerians elected the President in 2015, after he repeatedly vowed to secure the nation if given the chance.
A report shows over 10,000 people died from insecurity-related causes in 2021 alone.
The ICIR reported how 287 people were killed within five months in the South-East for similar reasons in 2021. The South-East is one of the country’s six geo-political zones.
Insecurity has taken different forms under the President across the zones. Though he inherited insecurity when he assumed office, many believe the situation worsened during his tenure.
Banditry and kidnapping reign in the North-West and North-Central, and there were still pockets of insurgency in the North-East as of 2022.
‘Unknown gunmen’ take charge of the South-East, killing people and grounding businesses, while ritual killings surged in the South-West. But the South-South, where agitators for (petroleum) resource control had wreaked havoc in the past, have been pacified with empowerment programmes and juicy contracts for monitoring oil infrastructures.
In 2022, The ICIR reported how terrorists attacked 18 correctional centres and released inmates, including other terrorists across Nigeria, under Buhari’s watch.
In July 2022, suspected terrorists attacked the Presidential Guards Brigade in the nation’s capital.
Similarly, this organisation reported how over 80,000 Nigerians fled to the Niger Republic in three months under the president’s watch.
Following deteriorating insecurity across the country, the National Assembly threatened to impeach the President in 2022.
In January, The Punch newspaper reported that 2,140 soldiers, police officers, and others were killed while securing the nation during the president’s tenure.
Buhari leaves office on May 29 and will hand over to the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org