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President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed disappointment that the recent gruesome killings in Kaduna did not attract international attention the way the killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, did.
The President spoke during a meeting with senior government officials, security chiefs, traditional rulers, religious, political and community leaders at the Musa Yar’Adua Sports Complex in Kaduna. He was on a condolence visit to Kaduna on Tuesday following the killings which necessitated the imposition of a curfew on parts of the state.
According to a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari expressed profound sadness at the recent tragic loss of lives and property in Kasuwan Magani and the unrest around Kaduna metropolis, demanding an end to such wanton killings.
‘‘If in the past, they got away scot-free, we shall now hold everyone to account for these latest killings,’’ he was quoted as saying.
‘‘It is unacceptable that criminal elements can visit on citizens the wanton killings recorded in the Kasuwan Magani incident of 18th October 2018 and the unrest around Kaduna metropolis a few days later. This must stop,’’
President Buhari however regretted that the fact that the Kaduna killings did not attract international attention means that “we are pushing ourselves as a nation and a people towards irrelevance, seen by the world itself’’.
The statement said: “On the recent killing of Saudi Journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, the President said while the whole world has been forced to watch and listen to what is happening, the situation in Kaduna has not attracted any attention.
‘I observed that more than 75 people were killed in Kaduna alone and I haven’t seen anything about it.
‘It means we are pushing ourselves as a nation and a people towards irrelevance, seen by the world itself,’ he said. “
The murder of Khashoggi, a known critic of the Saudi government and the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, drew global condemnation and rattled diplomatic wires across the globe after Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States, initially tried to cover up the incident.
The head of the Saudi investigation, Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, who last week finally acknowledged that the killing was “premeditated”, visited the consulate on Tuesday.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said his country’s investigators had evidence the Saudi writer was the victim of a premeditated “savage murder” by a 15-man hit-squad.
Commiserating with the government and people of Kaduna State, and families who lost loved ones in the violence, Buhari paid tribute to the late Agom Adara, Dr. Maiwada Galadima, eulogising the traditional ruler of Adara chiefdom for serving his community and Kaduna State with dedication.
He appealed to all who call Kaduna home to do their best to uphold peace in their respective communities, warning that chaos and anarchy tend to worsen and exacerbate whatever issues are agitating a community.
‘‘Violence shatters and divides people and stifles the prospect of any community that succumbs to its tragic logic.
‘‘The Federal Government commends the efforts of the Kaduna State Government in responding to and managing the crisis. More Federal Security assets are being provided at the request of the Kaduna State Government to help uphold and keep the peace.
‘‘The Federal Government will continue to work to ensure that more security assets are recruited and deployed across the country to protect all citizens going about their lawful business and to reinforce the authority of the government,’’ he said.
President Buhari also welcomed the decision of the Kaduna State Government and its local governments to build and provide facilities for the take-off of more police divisions and civil defence offices in the state.