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Former Presidential candidate of the Young Democratic Party (YDP), Kingsley Moghalu, has warned that there would be grave consequences if President Muhammadu Buhari’s government fails to stop the impunity of killer herdsmen and bandits in Nigeria.
Moghalu on Monday in a statement said the problem associated with herdsmen could escalate into an ethnic crisis if not properly addressed.
He said this while condemning the recent killings and crisis in Oyo State.
Part of the statement read, “The failure of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to end the menace of criminal herdsmen and bandits throughout Nigeria (in both northern and southern states) has led to the stigmatisation of the Fulani and other ethnic groups for the crimes of a few.
He warned that the failure of the government to deploy effective security and law enforcement action against these criminals has also created a dangerous vacuum that is increasingly filled, by self-defence measures by several communities across the nation.
“This could lead to reprisals based on ethnic profiling. In this context, I deplore the recent killings of innocent Nigerians of Northern extraction in Oyo State.
“As a Nigerian who has played a role in international efforts to rebuild several failed states after destructive internal conflicts including Rwanda after the genocide in 1994, I know firsthand where such trends can lead. I call upon President Muhammadu Buhari to act decisively to end the scourge of killer herdsmen and bandits.
Moghalu mentioned that it is a clear augury of state failure when terrorists of any description can attack defenceless civilians without consequence.
“Clearly, the Nigerian state has lost its monopoly of the use of force.
“This is time for leadership by President Buhari. No one is, or should be, above the laws of Nigeria. We simply cannot have a country in which the authorities act decisively to squash peaceful protests by citizens but appear impotent against terrorists and terrorism,” the statement added.
