Sultan condemns post-election riots, hails Jonathan's victory

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, has condemned the post-election violence that erupted in some parts of the country following the declaration of the result of the  April presidential election.
A statement issued by Mr.  Mitaire Ikpen,  on behalf of  the  Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to  President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Ima Niboro,  quoted the Sultan as describing the violent eruption  as an “unfortunate” occurrence which “must be condemned by all right- thinking individuals all over the world.”


The President’s Special Adviser further stated that the “Sokoto monarch  made the declaration on behalf of other traditional rulers who are chairmen of the traditional rulers council of the states and the FCT, during a courtesy visit to President Jonathan at the State House, Abuja.”
The Sultan, who co-chairs the royal fathers’ council with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade,  expressed sadness over  some miscreants’  recourse to violence due to  instigation, adding that royal fathers across the country were particularly saddened by the killing of 10 members of the National Youth Service Corps.
According to the statement, the Sultan said: “We felt bad that somebody will leave his state to another state only to have his corpse  brought back . We were indeed saddened by the unfortunate incident.”
He urged traditional rulers across the country to do all they can to protect corps members in their domains and make their safety a priority.
The Sultan further stated that  the traditional institution fully supports the steps taken by President Jonathan to set up a panel to investigate the violence and bring perpetrators to book, adding that the council of traditional rulers will do all it can to assist the committee in its task.
The Sultan also congratulated President Jonathan on his victory at the presidential polls and pledged the solidarity of all royal fathers for  his administration, saying “we are solidly behind you and your government, and we will continue to do all it takes, Insha Allah, to assist this government achieve its programmes.”
President Jonathan thanked the royal fathers for their support towards the success of the April polls, and towards his election as president for a fresh term.
The President said his administration will continually engage the traditional institution and push for its constitutional recognition.
He solicited for their continued cooperation in maintaining law and order not only in their domains but across the nation.
He noted that while the investigation panel into the post-election crisis is a fact-finding and not a punitive committee, government will not shy away from investigating and prosecuting anyone found wanting in the panel’s recommendations.
According to him: “We will look at the committee’s recommendations and pass them to the security agencies.
”Anybody found culpable will be investigated and if the security agencies feel they should be prosecuted, then they will be prosecuted. We will not tolerate the culture of impunity because ours is not a lawless society”.
The meeting was attended chairmen of traditional rulers councils in the 36 states and the FCT.

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