The presidency said yesterday that thousands of herdsmen are being tried and convicted across the country for illegal activities.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said there was no substance to the accusation that President Muhammadu Buhari is not doing anything on the herdsmen menace.
He said, “I hope that the police will take responsibility and publish the full list of Fulani herders who are undergoing trial in various states, particularly in Benue State.
“Trials are going on, convictions are being made and the President cannot be complicit in the kind of things that are being said of him.”
He also said the president was fully aware of the country’s security situation and was working to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
Shehu explained: “The president is more than concerned about the ongoing situation and he is fully conscious of the fact that it is the responsibility of his government to work with all Nigerians to secure lives and stop the ongoing crises, whether they are kidnapping or ethnic hatred and violence. He condemns it.
“It is for community leaders – local, traditional, and elected – to work with the President. The country’s military, as we speak, is overstretched because they are active in at least 34 of the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT.
“The Air Force, the police, they are recruiting, day and night; people are being trained in special operations and are being sent to the forest”.
Earlier on the TV show, Senate minority leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, had accused President Buhari of treating criminal Fulani herdsmen with kid gloves.
“The President needs to come out and say I do not support these types of actions, these criminal elements,” Abaribe said.