Obasanjo: Benue Killings Beyond Description
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Loading ...From Msughshima Andrew, Makurdi
Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday visited Benue State to commiserate with the government and people of the state where he expressed sadness saying the killings are beyond description.
The former president was speaking during a condolence visit to Benue state where he visited and lay a wreath at the grave site of the 73 victims of the new year attack at Genabe village, in makurdi.
“I heard that over 80 persons, were again killed after the burial of 73 persons that lost their lives in the 2018 new year attack in Benue.”
Obasanjo who was in company of the Benue State governor Samuel Ortom and some members of his cabinet said, he was coming from Maiduguri where they held a meeting of zero Hunger forum, but has to do a stop over to Benue on his way back to commiserate with the government and people of the state for the killings.
“The killings in Benue is beyond what we are seeing on the surface and we need to find out what is the cause of this killings and that is the responsibility of our leaders, they must leave no stone unturn to get to the root cause of this problem.
“I made a stopover here to pay a condolence visit to the people and government of Benue to share in their pain and sadness and I feel coming to this grave yard and laying a wreath will expresse sufficiently my sorrow and my sympathy and empathy to the government and all the people of the state and indeed all Nigerians because, a lost of one Nigeria is a lost to all of us.
“I heard that after the burial of the 73 persons, more than 80 others have also lost their lives different part of Benue, and it is more shocking to me to hear and I believe it will be more shocking to many Nigerians who will hear this”
There is no doubt that we have not gotten it right in Nigeria, we haven’t gotten it right because normally in any civilised society there is every need to get to the root cause of any problem to nip it in the bud and until we get to the root of this, we will be burying victims, we will be assuming what is not assumable.
The former President further called on those saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and properties to accept their responsibility to put an end to this senseless killings.
“We can not talk of a free country, a secure country, a country where we want development to take place, where we want to invite investors from within and outside to come and invest in, and we are suffering this type senseless killings. We can not accept this, which investors will even be interested, he queried.”
He pleaded with the Governor and people of the state to accept his condolence, and urged Ortom not give up in trying to work with men and women that have the interest of Benue and that of Nigeria at heart to find a permanent solution to the killings.
