President Muhammadu Buhari last night in Abuja condemned the murder of 19 persons by unknown gunmen in Tawari community in Kogi Local Government Area.of Kogi State. This is as Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State directed security agencies in the state to fish out perpetrators of Tawari attack and bring them to book.
A statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari remarked that “there is no excuse or justification for killing innocent people by anybody or group, and for whatever motive.’’
He further quoted the president as saying, “The killings and revenge killings will only aggravate the cycle of violence, creating neither safety nor security for any side.
“People should avoid taking the law into their own hands because doing so could make a bad situation worse and undermine the government’s efforts to tackle security challenges.
“I am gravely worried about frequency and temptation of using violence to settle disputes instead of following lawful and amicable means to avoid needless destruction of lives and property.”
The Police Public Relations Officer for the command, Williams Anya, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview.
Anya, who also disclosed that some lives were lost during the attack, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ede Ayuba Ekpeji, had visited the community for on-the-spot assessment.
He also said the Commissioner of Police had deployed Special Police Force and Police Tactical Squad, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, to immediately unravel those behind the heinous act with a view to bringing them to book.