Killings by Herdsmen Will Continue If APC Wins 2019 Elections, Says Atiku

Killings by Herdsmen Will Continue If APC Wins 2019 Elections, Says Atiku

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The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday stated that the killings by herdsmen would continue and ultimately spark series of ethno-religious crises that would be irreversible if Nigerians do not vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 elections.

Atiku also rose in support of Amnesty International whose report on the clashes between herdsmen and farmers indicted the federal government for failing to stop the avoidable killing of 3,641 defenseless Nigerians by herdsmen in the last three years.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the response to the report by the presidency as “tepid,” warning that unless Nigerians vote out the APC administration, killings by herdsmen will continue and ultimately spark series of ethno-religious crises that will be irreversible.

“It is now very clear, like Amnesty International said in its report, that the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari has displayed gross incompetence and has failed in its duty to protect the lives of its population, which has witnessed many preventable deaths and lost many good hands. This situation has put the country on the verge of disintegration,” Atiku said.

Atiku added that it has become obvious that the federal government lacks the capacity to stop the myriad of security challenges currently confronting the country, which have left thousands of Nigerians either killed or maimed and has also scared away foreign investors.

‘’After every attack, either by herdsmen or by kidnappers, the government would vow to get the culprits and punish them. Then more deaths will occur and the government will repeat its vow. This is not reassuring to the people of Nigeria as well as foreigners who may want to do business in the country. Therefore, it is now clear that in spite of its best efforts, the Buhari and his party, the APC, cannot stop the herdsmen and other criminal elements currently terrorising the country,” the statement said.

Atiku said it was frightening that the Buhari administration is not doing anything even in the face of a ruinous report by the World Bank to the effect that Nigeria will soon become the world capital of under age deaths.

“If elected president in 2019, Atiku Abubakar will implement a robust strategy far removed from and more effective than the inept management of the crisis that the country has witnessed in the last three years. He will tackle head long the reported cases of welfare of soldiers fighting Boko Haram terrorists, in a way that will ensure adequate motivation for officers and men who have put their lives on the line in the service of the country,” the statement said.

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