President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed that any Fulani man found in possession of AK-47 rifles should be charged to court.
The President said this in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital during a visit to the state to commiserate with people that lost loved ones in the wake of violence that engulfed the area recently.
“Any Fulani man caught with AK-47 should be charged to court.”
He spoke at Government House, Jalingo, and lamented lack of oneness and inability of the people to live together in peace as brothers and sisters.
He said his reason to visit Taraba State first was informed by the large-scale killing at Mambila Plateau which he described as more than the number of those killed in Benue and Zamfara states.
He said he will soon embark on the same visit to Zamfara and Benue states, also to condole with those who lost their loved ones.
The President called on the traditional rulers in the state to go to their chiefdoms and preach peace among their subjects for peaceful coexistence among their people.
He said traditional rulers in Nigeria were the main land lords, while politicians like himself as the President and Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State were visitors who might not stay on their seats for ever.
“Any Fulani man caught with AK-47 should be charged to court. You, the traditional rulers are going to remain on your stools till you die; Ishaku (the governor) and I may not last on our seats for long but you are going to be there till you die. “Please go to your domains and initiate peace among your people. These killings will not help us,” President Buhari said.
The representatives of Yandan, Fulani and Mambila tribes who were allowed to speak on the occasion, called on the President to instil justice in the land for the people to live in peace.
Earlier in his comment, Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, appreciated the President for finding time to visit the state for condolences.
Ishaku said the crisis in the state had hindered speedy development which the state government initially initiated.
He pleaded with with the President to mobilize more security personnel in the state to forestall further crisis among the people.
Vanguard
