A civil society organization, the Advocacy Network on Religious and Cultural Coexistence (ANORACC), has taken swipes at the security agents and President Muhammadu Buhari over the killings in Benue.
In a statement made available to the media, the Director of ANORACC, Odimegwu Onwumere, said in Port Harcourt on Saturday, April 8, 2023, that security agents should protect lives and property and not “recover dead bodies after an attack.”
The group also cautioned that Buhari should first respect the order of the country’s court on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before calling for an order on “extreme violence” in Benue.
The ANORACC added that Buhari should understand that it takes clean hands before going to equity.
The statement read: “Police in Benue said they have recovered 28 bodies, including a pregnant woman and children, in fresh attacks in the state, while Gov. Ortom of Benue mourned 134 killed in his state and asked the President Buhari-led government to deploy more troops.
“But Buhari has said he condemned the killings and called for an end to what he called “extreme violence.”
“However, we at the Advocacy Network on Religious and Cultural Coexistence (ANORACC) are asking:
“(1) Why have the security agents allowed the “Benue massacre” to linger until this time?
“(2) Are the security agents only good at recovering Benue people’s dead bodies but can’t protect the lives of the natives?
“(3) Does Buhari know that it takes clean hands to go before equity before asking for an end to “extreme violence” in Benue?
(4) Buhari has to respect the country’s court order, which has freed and acquitted Mazi Nnamdi Kanu since last year. By so doing, the citizens will follow suit and obey the order against “extreme violence.”
“(5) What has the government been doing to curb the activities of alleged Fulani people who have been reported to be at the center of the killings in Benue?”
The statement concluded that there is no difference between those who violate Nigeria’s constitution and resort to extrajudicial killing and those who don’t obey court orders.
“Both extremely violent individuals and those who don’t obey court orders are all lawbreakers.”
