Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday said killings by herdsmen would continue in the country, unless President Muhammadu Buhari is voted out of office in 2019.
Atiku said this while reacting to Amnesty International’s report on herdsmen/farmers’ clashes, which indicted the Federal Government for failing to stop the killing of 3,641 Nigerians by herdsmen in the last three years.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice-President described the Presidency’s response to the report as “tepid.”
“Unless Nigerians vote out the All Progressives Congress administration, killings by herdsmen will continue and ultimately spark series of ethno-religious crises that will be irreversible.
“It is now very clear, like Amnesty International said in its report, that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has displayed gross incompetence and has failed in its duty to protect the lives of its people who have witnessed many preventable deaths.
“This situation has put the nation on the verge of disintegration,” Atiku said.
Atiku insisted Buhari lacked the capacity to stop the security challenges, which was scaring away foreign investors.
“After every attack, either by herdsmen or by kidnappers, the government will vow to get the culprits and punish them. Then more deaths will occur and the government will repeat its vow.
“This is not reassuring to the people of Nigeria as well as foreigners who may want to do business in the country.
“Therefore, it is now clear that in spite of their best efforts, Buhari and his party, the APC, cannot stop the herdsmen and other criminal elements currently terrorising the country,” Atiku added.
