To meet Ugwuanyi as fear grips another Enugu
community over fresh invasion.
Two cobblers reportedly injured in reprisal.
Tobi Soniyi,
Omololu Ogunmade,
Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja
and Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu.
Following the outrage that followed the attack on the Ukpabi
Nimbo community in Enugu State on Monday leading to the
deaths of scores of people, President Muhammadu Buhari
yesterday finally broke his silence on the rising waves of
attacks by unknown cattle rearers in different parts of the
country.
He ordered the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon
Arase, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the
Department of State Services (DSS) to fish out the herdsmen
who terrorise and kill innocent Nigerians.
Buhari spoke on the directive to the security chiefs as the
special guest of honour at the launch of a book, “Who Will
Love My Country: Ideas for Building the Nigeria of Our
Dreams”, written by the Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, at the International Conference Centre (ICC),
Abuja.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, condemned the senseless killings by
the herdsmen in the strongest terms and expressed
sympathy for those who lost their loved ones and property in
the wicked acts.
The president, who further said he had asked the security
chiefs to secure communities terrorised by the herdsmen,
warned that his government would not fold its arms and
allow the cruel acts to continue.
“Let me start by condemning in the strongest terms the
attacks by herdsmen in Enugu State on Monday. I deeply
sympathise with those who lost their lives as well as those
who lost their property.
“I have directed the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector
General of Police to secure all communities under attacks by
herdsmen and to go after the groups terrorising innocent
people all over the country. This government will not allow
these attacks to continue,” he said.
Also a statement by the president’s spokesman, Mr. Garba
Shehu, said Buhari unreservedly condemned the attack on
the Ukpabi Nimbo community and other such acts of extreme
violence against communities in other states of the
Federation.
The statement from the presidency said ending the recent
upsurge of attacks on communities by herdsmen reportedly
armed with sophisticated weapons was now a priority of the
Buhari administration’s agenda for enhanced national security
and the Armed Forces, adding that the police have clear
instructions to take all necessary actions to stop the carnage.
“Acting on the president’s directive, the Inspector General of
Police and heads of the nation’s other security agencies are
already taking urgent steps to fully investigate the attacks,
apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” it
added.
The president assured all Nigerians, once again, of his
administration’s continued commitment to ensuring the
safety of lives and property in all parts of the country.
The statement added that in keeping with the president’s
directive, the IG, the General Officer Commanding the 82nd
Division of the Nigerian Army and the Director of the DSS in
Enugu State had visited Ukpabi Nimbo to personally oversee
investigations into the attack on the community and ongoing
efforts to apprehend the culprits.
It further revealed that Buhari was scheduled to meet with
Enugu State Governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, wednesday to
receive further briefing on the attack on Ukpabi Nimbo and
discuss additional measures to forestall similar attacks and
restore public confidence.
The president urged all Nigerians to remain calm and gave
the assurance of his administration’s readiness to deploy all
required personnel and resources to remove this new threat
to the collective security of the nation.
At the book launch, Buhari commended Ekweremadu for
taking time out of his busy schedule to write a book about
governance in Nigeria and called for an attitudinal change by
public officers, saying anyone who loves his country would
shun corruption and impunity.
The president stated that Nigerians could only secure the
Nigeria of their dreams if they placed the nation’s interest
above their individual interests.
He said the 2016 budget was designed to bring Nigerians out
of poverty, improve their standard of living and put smiles on
their faces.
He added: “The N500 billion social intervention fund is
designed to, among others, create jobs for 500,000
unemployed graduates; provide loans for one million
Nigerians, including market men and women, as well as for
artisans to start their businesses.
“It also includes feeding of 4.5 million students in schools.
Nigerians can only have and live in the country of their
dreams by shunning corruption and desist from converting
public property for personal usage or diverting public funds
to their private pockets.”
In his opening remark, chairman of the occasion and a former
military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), commended
Ekweremadu for investing his time and energy to write a
book which he described as a wake-up call and thought-
provoking move.
He said from the title of the book, it was easy to conclude
that Ekweremadu had embarked on a journey of self-
discovery hinged on patriotism.
He was of the view that the motivation to write the book
arose from the circumstances of Nigeria’s contemporary
history as he recalled how “we fought a war to remain united,
indivisible nation… because we believed and still believe that
what binds us together is far greater than what divides us”.
Like Buhari, Gowon said nobody could claim to love his
country and engage in corruption, “which l believe that the
current leadership will tackle”.
He prayed that the insurgency or Fulani herdsmen’s menace
would not divide Nigeria, adding: “With the help of God and
cooperation of the citizenry and the gallant security forces,
we shall soon conquer.”
Ekweremadu, in his remarks, called on Nigerian leaders to
govern effectively and also use the power at their disposal
wisely, noting that doing so was the only way to safeguard
the interest of the citizens.
He counselled Nigerians to show greater love for their
fatherland by rising above tribal, ethnic, religious and political
persuasions in the overriding interest of the country.
According to him, to love Nigeria would entail critically
revising and re-examining individual attitudes, values and
simultaneously treating one another with dignity, adding: “It
demands of us some sacrifice.”
He emphasised the need to bequeath good governance and
system to the children, asking rhetorically, “Are we going to
bequeath to them a banner stained by corruption, bad
governance, ineffective leadership, ethnicity, slacking moral
values, decadence, mediocrity, and sloth? God forbid!”
But even as the president ordered the apprehension of the
marauding cattle rearers, tension gripped the residents of
Ameke Umuchigbo community in Enugu East Local
Government Area of Enugu State following the reported
invasion of the area yesterday by suspected herdsmen.
The Police Commissioner in the state, Nwodibo Ekechukwu,
however dismissed the alleged invasion as a false alarm,
stating that when “we received the information, I
immediately despatched the DPO, Area Commander and the
Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, but
the report they returned with showed there was nothing like
that”.
Despite the dismissal, a source in the community told
newsmen that there was indeed a disagreement between
residents in the community and some herdsmen but refused
to state whether the disagreement degenerated into violence.
“Trouble started this afternoon. The causality figure is not
yet known. School children were even asked to go home,” he
said.
It was further gathered that a herdsman stabbed an
Umuchigbo citizen, leading to a retaliatory attack by the
community.
“Today, the herdsmen mobilised to attack a school.
Umuchigbo mobilised and managed to chase them away; all
is now calm. However, there are genuine concerns that they
will return anytime soon,” the source said.
But further checks by THISDAY showed that some indigenes
attacked two cobblers of Hausa-Fulani stock with matchetes,
resulting in serious injuries. They were however rushed to the
hospital, according to a police source..
Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/04/28/finally-buhari-orders-security-chiefs-to-apprehend-marauding-herdsmen/

I stopped reading when I saw that Lai Mohammed was the one who represented the President and the exact person from whose lips that directive came from. From that same lips it was once reported that this issue is being handled secretly but we all later saw what kept on happening unhindered or condemned. That lips are the gate of correct lies.