Press Release: Buhari Approves Committee To Rebuild Communities Affected by Herdsmen-Farmers Conflicts

In line with the administration’s commitment towards finding permanent solutions to the herdsmen-farmers clashes in some parts of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the formation of a new Committee to look into the rebuilding of communities affected by the violence in the affected states.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, announced the approval today at the monthly meeting of the National Economic Council, of which he is chairman.

The Committee, which would be headed by the Vice President, will also find ways of providing welfare and other needed facilities in these communities.

“The President has asked me to head the committee,” Prof. Osinbajo announced to the State governors, who constitute membership of NEC, alongside the CBN Governor.

Similarly, the Council was briefed on the activities of the NEC Working Group.

The Working Group was set up at the last NEC meeting in accordance with the President’s commitment to bring all perpetrators of violence to book.

Since then, the Group has met twice and formed a technical Sub-Committee, headed by Ebonyi State Governor, which has been given the assignment of consultations with some of the affected communities.

The Vice President noted that the Federal Government will not impose on State Governments, but would share templates on best practices for the conduct of livestock production and business.

Some of the recommendations of the Working Group include the need for joint Military-Police Operation to manage violent outbreak where required while also calling for more efficient intelligence gathering.

Similarly, the Working Group called for the use of the Military force to flush out bandits whose activities have been linked to the clashes, and also for active engagement with traditional leaders to foster peace in their communities.

It further recommended the training of an Agro Rangers Corps to provide security around ranches, livestock production centres and grazing routes.

Press Release: President Buhari Explains Proposed Policy on Grazing Areas, Says No Plan to Colonize Any Part of Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja explained that the policy proposed by Federal Government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country is not meant to colonize any part of the country.

Receiving Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) led by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, President Buhari said the intention of government is to create grazing locations for cattle rearers, which has now been misconstrued as another form of colonization.

President Buhari regretted that the well-thought out policy of the Federal Government, which was conceived after wide consultations with stakeholders, had been largely misunderstood by a section of the public.

He, however, assured the Catholic Bishops that the Federal Government will continue to explore all opportunities and support initiatives to ensure peace and stability in restive areas.

Condemning recent spate of killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states, the President said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.

‘‘The impression created that I was sitting in an air-conditioned office and home, enjoying myself while these things happened, is dishonest.

‘‘At every step, I have tried to foresee these problems because I have the experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian army, in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos.

‘‘I am quite aware of the problems we have and I am doing my best to get law enforcement agencies to be on alert,’’ he said.

The President told the Catholic Bishops that he would not be tired of recounting remarkable progress recorded in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.

‘‘We have done very well on security in the North East, when you compare what the condition was before we came in and what it is now.

‘‘On the economy, particularly agriculture, I am very pleased that God answered the prayers of Nigerians who prayed for bountiful harvest.

‘‘People have taken advantage of Federal Government policies and programmes to return to the farm and they have not regretted,’’ he said.

On the fight against corruption, the President reiterated that government would be guided by the law in the investigation and prosecution of all graft-related cases.

‘‘People are being prosecuted systematically with evidence.

‘‘If a permanent secretary has five houses in Abuja, two in Kaduna and one in Borno and Sokoto and he can’t account for the properties and there are bank transactions linking him to the properties, the prosecuting agencies will not have difficulties to make progress on the case.”

On the question of Federal character, the President declared that no ethnic group or political zone has been deliberately marginalised in the appointments made so far.

He, however, added that he would take a second look at areas on which issues have been raised, when a compendium of all government appointments is submitted to him.

In his remarks, Archbishop Kaigama pledged that the Catholic Church in Nigeria would continue to support the Buhari administration and make its contribution to nation-building through prayers, admonitions and assistance to needy Nigerians.

‘‘As the voice of the people, we shall continue to highlight the plight of our people and play our prophetic role of sensitizing the government, thus promoting good governance, national unity and cohesion,’’ Kaigama said.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity
February 8, 2018

Press Release: President Buhari’s Letter To Senate President On Benue Killings

I thank you for your letter Reference NASS/8S/R/01 /33 dated 18th January, 2018 and I have carefully studied the resolutions and comments contained therein.

As I briefed you and the Rt. Hon. Speaker when we met on the 14th January, 2018, several courses of action had already been taken prior to the Senate Resolutions. You may recall that I told you of the following steps taken as soon as information came to me about the Benue killings.

On Thursday 4th January, I sent the Minister of Interior and the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations for an on the spot assessment of the situation.

On Friday, 5th January, the Inspector General of Police briefed me verbally on the latest situation. Calm had by then been restored.

On Monday 8th the Minister of Interior met with the following:

Governors of Adamawa, Kaduna, Niger, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa States together with
Director General of the State Security Services (DG SSS)
Inspector General of Police
Commandant General, Civil Defence
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Commissioners of Police from the six aforementioned states
Comptrollers of Civil Defence from the six aforementioned states.

After the meeting I instructed the Minister of lnterior to brief you on the information gathered so far and steps taken. On Tuesday 9th January, I had a long session with Governor Ortom of Benue State during which I informed him of police arrest of some suspects with Kalashnikovs. In addition, I told him that I had instructed the IGP to speed up trial and prosecution of the suspects and give wide publicity to the police efforts.

At the request of the Governor a meeting was held in the Presidential Villa on 15th January, with a wide – cross – section of Benue personages where frank and open discussions were held and everybody in the meeting appreciated the complexity and difficulties of this farmer/herder strife. I assured all and sundry of my commitment to ensure that justice is expeditiously done.

To infer, therefore that nothing has been done is incorrect. The police are strenuously working to apprehend the rest of the culprits of these heartless killings. Furthermore, I have instructed the Inspector General of Police to relocate to Benue State, redeploy forces to the most sensitive areas. The Federal Government is initiating additional measures to address these and other security challenges, alleviate the consequences of these attacks and forestall reoccurrence. The Senate Resolutions itemised in your letter will be taken into consideration and I am instructing all relevant MDAs to factor them in their work.

Earlier, on December 19th 2017 to be precise, while receiving the Report of the Committee which I had set up to review the operational, technical and administrative structure of the National intelligence Agency (NIA), I underscored the need to review the entire national security architecture – as I promised in my inaugural Address on 29th May, 2015. Action is being initiated and I expect to receive maximum cooperation from the Senate, in line with paragraph (iii) of the Senate Resolutions.

Please accept, Mr. Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards.

Muhammadu Buhari

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
February 1, 2018.

Press Statement: Reports That Vice President Ignored Benue Governor’s Letter on Benue Attacks are Absolutely False

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, was shocked by a news report ostensibly quoting the Benue State Governor Sam Ortom as saying that the VP was warned of the savage and inhumane killings by alleged herdsmen in Logo and Guma local government areas which took place on the 1st of January 2018.

Although the Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo, does not believe that the Governor could ever have said so, it will be a terrible falsehood to suggest that the VP was ever informed by the Governor or anyone else of the imminence of the killing of citizens of our country in those or any other local governments in Benue State.

Governor Ortom wrote to the Vice President, then Acting President, on 7th June 2017 protesting a newspaper publication where the leadership of Miyetti Allah was reported to have stated that it was opposed to the Open Grazing Prohibition law of the State and that they would mobilize to resist the law. The Miyetti Allah had written to the Vice President on the 5th of June 2017 on the same law protesting several sections of the law. The Governor went on to say that the leadership of Miyetti Allah should be arrested because they used words such as “wicked, obnoxious and repressive,” to describe the law, and because these were “utterances that are capable of undermining the peace…”

The Vice President subsequently met with the Governor, discussed the matter and the security situation in the State and then ordered law enforcement agencies to be on the alert to prevent any attacks or violence. This was in June 2017!

In the said letter written by the Governor, there was no mention of any threat to any specific one of the 23 local governments of Benue State, so the best the law enforcement agencies could do even then was to await information or intelligence of an imminent attack. None came. Since then the VP has held several meetings with the Benue State Governor, including a visit to the State on the 6th of September, last year at the behest of Mr. President during the tragic floods in the state last year. At all such meetings, the Vice President discussed the security situation of the State with the Governor.

Following that, the then Acting President convened a major national security retreat which was attended by all State Governors, service chiefs and heads of security agencies. The Retreat featured very detailed discussions on the herdsmen/ farmers’ clashes.

To the best of our knowledge, neither Governor Ortom nor the Federal Government was aware of the imminence of the cowardly attack on Logo and Guma on the 1st of January, and therefore any suggestion that the President or the Vice President ignored the State Governor’s warning is both absolutely false and certainly misleading.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
15 January 2018