BEVERLY HILLS, May 14, (THEWILL) – The recent killing of two reverend fathers and 17 parishioners at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom in Benue State, has reinforced the morbid fear of insecurity across the country.
The killings which occurred, despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s assurance of safety in the state are disheartening and heartbreaking.
That lives and property are so brazenly destroyed on regular basis is also an indication that the military Operation, Cat Race, Ayem Akpatuma in the area has failed.
Prior to the killings at the Catholic Church, gunmen had attacked the Africa Church in Mbamondo, Gaambe-Tiev in Logo Local Government, killing seven persons.
These endless killings are outside another typical massacre in Guma Local Government Area of the state, where 39 persons were killed.
Kaduna, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba and Nasarawa are amongst northern states where similar killings have been reported recently.
THEWILL condemns these mindless killings of hapless Nigerians in a country that is supposedly not at war.
We are concerned that the military whose responsibility it is to protect the people, have also become part of their problems.
THEWILL recalls that military personnel had recently burnt down about 300 houses in Naka village in the state, to avenge the death of a soldier who was reportedly killed by a mob.
A military at war with the people that it is charged to defend, cannot be trusted to protect residents against rampaging murderers and terrorists.
What hitherto were clashes between herdsmen and farmers over grazing routes have since turned into what could be described as, ethnic and religious cleansing.
These premeditated sinister attacks and killings by these terrorists seem to have political undertone as the nation heads into the 2019 election season.
THEWILL therefore urges the Buhari administration to immediately label those responsible for these killings as terrorists and bring them to justice by all means necessary.
These killings are threatening the fabric of Nigeria’s unity and it is dangerous for the Buhari government to allow it to continue without apprehending the perpetrators and their paymasters and punishing them appropriately.
The military and security agencies have the will and capacity to deal with this problem if our politicians and northern elites are genuinely sincere about bringing the carnage to an end.
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