The presidency has refuted claims that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered security agencies not to attack Fulani herdsmen attacking communities and destroying farmlands.
VANTAGE NEWS gathered that the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom had claimed in an interview published by ICR that Buhari asked security operatives to leave killer herdsmen alone.
Reacting in a statement on Wednesday, the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, challenged Ortom to reveal his source.
Ortom had in he interview, claimed that he received confidential information from top security personnel that the Buhari government had ordered them not to move against the killer herdsmen.
However, Shehu, who berated Ortom for making such claims, also asked politicians and leaders to stop making careless statements that can aggravate the security situation in the country.
The statement partly reads,”In a recent interview, the governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, claimed that high ranking security personnel had informed him personally that President Buhari had ordered security forces not to move against the Fulani herdsmen responsible for recent violence,” Shehu said.
“These ridiculous claims are patently untrue. If he is as brave as he claims to be, let him name names. Let him name the military personnel who told him this story or forever shut up.
“It is disappointing that Ortom, who in the same interview describes himself as a child of God who believes in being lawful and respects the Nigerian constitution, felt the need to spread such a divisive lie.
“In a period of heightened insecurity, our politicians should be working to bring us closer together, not risking further violence by dishonestly seeking to further divide us along ethnic or religious lines.
“Fortunately, the cheap, dog whistle politics behind Ortom’s falsehood are plain for all to see. He is not the first opportunistic politician who has attempted to sow discord amongst his country’s people in the run-up to an election; sadly, he will not be the last,”
Disclaimer
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vantage News Nigeria or any employee thereof.
