The United States government has joined the chorus of voices calling for an end to the murder of innocent souls currently ongoing in Nigeria.
The United States government revealed its position on the killings in Nigeria through the Chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy, Mr. David Young while addressing a peace and security conference in Plateau State.
According to Mr. Young, “On behalf of the United States government, I want to condemn in strong terms the violence that claimed innocent lives in Plateau State, the Middle Belt and across Nigeria. The killing of innocent citizens is simply not acceptable whether in Plateau, Zamfara, Benue, Borno, Delta or Taraba. We as people of faith must surrender ourselves to God,”
The United States consul revealed steps that should be taken to end the violence in Nigeria. He reiterated that the first step to ending the violence was to bring the killers to book by arresting them and making them face the full wrath of the law.
Read: Buhari may be behind Fulani herdsmen – CNN’s Christiane Amanpour
The United States consul said, “These criminals that committed these crimes must be caught and prosecuted. We must break the circle of impunity that fuels grievances on our sides and lead to reprisals and counter-reprisal attacks.”
He called for effective law enforcement to arrest and prosecute criminal actors who do evil things.
“It’s absolutely essential that those arrested must promptly face charges in court because bringing criminal actors to justice is the first step to end the violence,” The United States consul added.
The peace and security conference which lasted for three days was convened by the Plateau state government as part of the initiative towards the process of peace building after the recent violence in various parts of the state.
It is also one of the various measures by the government towards resettling those displaced by the attacks back to their ancestral homes, as well as tackling the challenges of peace and security regardless any form of distraction in the security architecture in the state.
The event was attended by traditional rulers, community leaders, security experts, as well as government and non-government organisations within and outside Plateau.
The topics discussed at the conference include peace building, security, as well as the roles of traditional, religious and community leaders in peace building, among others.
There was an earlier report credited to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour where she alleged that President Buhari may be behind attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
Fulani herdsmen have caused the highest carnage in human lives in Nigeria since January 1st 2018 with more than 3000 lives lost in the middle-belt states of Benue and plateau.
The seeming complacency of the Nigerian government has fuelled speculations that the killer herdsmen may have the blessing of President Buhari who is Fulani by extraction and also owns herds of cows.