President Muhammadu Buhari says he has directed security agencies across the country to henceforth deal decisively with any herdsmen that attack innocent Nigerians.
Buhari made this known when he received the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.
He said his administration is prepared to deal decisively and expeditiously with the matter.
This came against the background of reports of continued attacks on communities across the country by armed herdsmen.
“We are determined to secure all Nigerians and I have told the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies, in very strong terms, to deal decisively with the attackers,” the President was quoted to have said in a statement issued Tuesday by one of his mouthpieces, Femi Adesina.
The President expressed his personal condolences to the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, the people of Ukpabi Nimbo and all other communities that have suffered fatalities and other losses from the recent attacks.
Speaking on other national issues, the President assured the Bishops that he was acting with deliberation and moving methodically to implement his change agenda for the good of the country.
“We need to rebuild our institutions methodically, we need to change the way we do things.
“In the last 10 years, crude oil sold for more that $100 per barrel, but Nigeria did not save. That is why we have found ourselves where we are today,” President Buhari told the Catholic Bishops, led by Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Jos.
The President assured them that his administration was working very hard to fulfill all the promises it had made to Nigerians, adding that his greatest motivating factor now is the desire to bring positive change to Nigeria.
On behalf of the bishops, Most Rev. Kaigama expressed the solidarity of the CBCN with the President.
“We are willing to collaborate with you and with your administration, in which we see hope for a greater Nigeria,” he told the President.
The bishops pledged continued prayers for Nigeria and the government, expressing their conviction that current hardships are temporary, and Nigeria will soon overcome its present difficulties.
