Group blasts defence minister for allegedly justifying killings by herdsmen

Group blasts defence minister for allegedly justifying killings by herdsmen

- A Human rights group has blasted the defence minister over alleged statement on herdsmen killings

- The group blamed the imbalance in the composition of the National Defence Council for the pro-killer herdsmen comments made by the minister

- It added that Dan-Ali's comment shows that the current administration has no intention to arrest, prosecute and where possible punish the perpetrators of the killings

Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has attacked the minister of defence, Brig. Gen. Munir Dan-Ali (retd.), for comment allegedly supporting the violent attacks perpetrated by killer herdsmen.

The national coordinator of the group, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said a comment by the minister giving reasons for the attacks on farming communities by suspected armed herdsmen is a subtle justification for the criminal attacks by suspected armed herdsmen on farming communities.

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Punch reports that the group claimed that Dan-Ali’s assessment which reduced the problem to the proliferation of anti-open grazing laws in different states of the federation and blockade of grazing routes were responsible for the killings by herdsmen was to say the least “unpatriotic and unbecoming of a statesman.”

Onwubiko said: “HURIWA insists that the lopsided domination of the security forces by Hausa/Fulani ethnicity is a grave breach of the extant provision as cited above even as the selective appointments of persons from one section of Nigeria amounted to discrimination which is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional.

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“Nigerians expect the holder of the high office of Defence minister to be patriotic enough to denounce blood-cuddling terror attacks orchestrated by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen, but what has come out from the meeting of President Buhari’s security council as relayed by the Defence minister shows that the current administration has no intention to arrest, prosecute and where possible punish the perpetrators of the killings in Benue, Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa and Enugu states.”

Legit.ng previously reported that the Benue state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for the resignation of Nigeria's minister of defence Mansur Dan-Ali.

The party revealed this in a statement signed by Comrade Apeh Peterhot, director of publicity APC Benue state in reaction to Dan-Ali allegedly blaming the implementation of anti-grazing law in some states as the immediate cause of the killings in Benue and Taraba states.

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Source: Legit.ng

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