Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu has called on the Police to publish the names of herders facing trial for criminal activities.
Mr Shehu stated this on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily on Monday while reacting to allegations that the government is shielding criminal herders.
Increased kidnappings and insurgency in the south-west has been linked to the Fulani herdsmen occupying the region; thus fueling a crisis where Fulani residents in the regions have been profiled and given quit notice by some native south-westerners.
When quizzed if some persons have been arrested and trialed for reprisal attacks, Shehu replied in the affirmative and confirmed that there are over thousands of people facing trial.
He said, “We are not following up stories as media, otherwise, if you know the thousands of people… and I hope the headquarters of the police will take responsibility and publish the full list of Fulani herders who are undergoing trials in various states particularly in Benue state.
“Trials are going on, convictions are being made and the president cannot be complicit; it is very uncharitable. The president cannot be complicit in the kinds of things being said of him.
“The president is more than concerned of the ongoing situation and he is fully conscious of the fact that it is the responsibility of his government to work with Nigerians to secure lives and stop the ongoing crisis whether they are kidnapping or the new line of ethnic violence. He condemns it and he does not support it.”
He added that community leaders must work with the president and security agencies to ensure an end to the crisis.
“Community leaders — local and traditional — must work with the president. To say the president is doing nothing is because there is impunity and impunity is in the country because there are big men, VIPs.
“The country’s military as we speak are overstretched because they are active in at least 34 of the 36 states including the FCT,” he said.
