Buhari must stop killing of Northerners, herdsmen in Southern Nigeria – NEF

 

The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, on Tuesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to protect Fulani herders and Northerners in the Southern part of the country.

 

NEF made the call while stressing that the attacks and killings of herders and Northerners in the southern part of Nigeria must stop.

 

Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, NEF’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, said those behind the attacks and killings of Northerners and herders must be brought to justice.

 

A statement he forwarded reads: “The forum must warn those attacking and killing Fulani headers to stop. There are limits to every community’s tolerance and the forum strongly advises that lines are respected in the manner we treat Nigerians who are vulnerable wherever they live.

 

“The forum restates that the North will not be cowed and stampeded into escorting political ambitions of politicians at the cost of its rights, security and dignity. It demands that President Buhari asserts the powers our constitution gives him to protect our territorial integrity and secure citizens, or accept that he is incapable of leading the nation through these unprecedented challenges.

 

“Attacks on lawful Fulani and other Northerners in the South must stop and those who have killed them must be brought to book. The nation needs to know that Northerners in many parts of the South now live in heightened fear as they are profiled and harassed by elements in host communities who believe that there are no consequences for their actions.”

 

NEF also called for an end to attacks on government facilities in the country.

 

The forum charged Southern governors to resist such actions in their region.

 

“The forum demands an end to attacks on federal agents and facilities. Governors in the South must be unambiguous in their condemnation and resistance against these dangerous activities.

 

“They cannot continue to walk on both sides of the street. Northern governors should note that they are rapidly receding into irrelevance as desperate citizens chalk up their silence over multiple assaults in a country where they have equal rights to their security and dignity,” the statement added.