The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has urged Nigerians to eschew violence and conduct themselves in a law-abiding manner when faced with security challenges.
Buratai gave this admonition while speaking with the media on Monday, just after the conclusion of an interactive session between the Minister of Defence, Service Chiefs and the Senate Committee on Defence.
Confirming the attack on his convoy by Shiite Muslims in Zaria, he said the Army was committed to fulfilling its mandate of defending the country against external aggression and internal insurrection.
He said: “You want to know how I escaped? It was by the will of God that I was able to escape that attack. We urge everybody to be law abiding, that’s the most important thing and we expect everybody to be law abiding across, ok. Nobody should take the law into their hands. You saw that they were violent, definitely, that one is very clear because the clips were there. That was what happened.”
Recall that a Saturday altercation in Zaria, Kaduna State, between personnel of the Nigerian Army and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria left several persons dead, with each group accusing the other of instigating the violence.
While the Army accused the movement of an attempt on the life of the Army chief, the Islamic group accused the Army of launching “unprovoked” attacks on “defenceless” people.