President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the gruesome massacre of twenty-two persons travelling along Rukuba Road in Jos, the Plateau state capital.
In a statement on Saturday by the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President ordered the police and other security agencies to bring the killers to justice in line with his commitment to protect all Nigerians.
Naija News earlier reported that the travellers were killed while fourteen others got injured on Saturday following an attack by gunmen suspected to be bandits.
The travellers were said to be part of Muslim worshippers who were on their way to Ondo state after attending the annual zikr prayer in Bauchi.
Confirming the incident, the Plateau State Police spokesperson, Ubah Ogaba said 21 victims were rescued while six suspects have been arrested in connection with the development.
But according to Presidency, President Buhari has condemned the attack on the travellers and expressed sadness over the murder of the twenty-two travellers.
Buhari, however, offered condolences to the families of the victims, and prayed that God will give them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.
The statement titled ‘Presidency Strongly Condemns Hoodlum Attacks on Travellers’ read: “It is widely known that Plateau State has been one of the states affected by herder-farmer clashes, which have, in a significant way, been curtailed following the intense peace-building efforts of the administration of Governor Simon Lalong.
“However, to be clear, this is not an agriculturalist-on-pastoralist confrontation – but rather a direct, brazen and wickedly motivated attack on members of a community exercising their rights to travel freely and to follow the faith of their choosing.
“With the evident preparedness of their attackers, it is clear this was a well-conceived and prearranged assault on a known target, location and religious persuasion of the travellers not an opportunist ambush.
“These kinds of attacks on our country’s citizens are unacceptable, heinous, and stand in complete contradiction to the teachings of the great religions of our nation.
“The Presidency stands steadfast with both Christians and Muslims at this time in condemnation of this latest attack and expects and insists that justice is swiftly – but fairly – delivered to the perpetrators.”
The Presidency commended the ongoing efforts by the Governors of Plateau, Bauchi, and Ondo; the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi as well as a number of notable Christian and Muslim leaders for intensifying efforts to calm down the situation.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News