Pat Stevens/
President Muhammad Buhari said on Monday in Makurdi that he was unaware the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, disobeyed his directive to relocate to Benue State during the herdsmen/farmers clashes that claimed several lives.
President Buhari had ordered Idris to relocate to the state in the wake of the killings in January but the IGP allegedly spent one day and left.
While addressing stakeholders during an official visit to Benue State, Buhari said he expressly ordered the IG to relocate to the state but “did not know that IG did not stay in the state”.
The president also stressed the need for people of the state to learn to live peacefully, because the farmers and herdsmen would continue to co-exist.
Also reacting to insinuations that he abandoned the people of the state in their trying moments, Buhari said: “I have friends here in the state, there is no way I can deliberately overlook what is happening here and other parts of the country.”
He added: “Let me appeal to our people in the state to apply more restraint, the relationship between farmers and herders will continue, it behoves on us to keep encouraging ourselves to continue to live together peacefully.”
The president said he had taken note of all what the stakeholders said, but would not make any promise until next time he visits the state.
While welcoming Buhari to the state, Governor Samuel Ortom told him the state had lost many more lives after the mass burial of 73 victims of New Year attack.
Ortom said: “65 more people have been killed after the mass burial of 73 persons, also 26 more were killed in Okpokwu, with over 5,000 displaced in Mbatoho community.”
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