Buhari appeals to traditional, religious leaders to help stop Tiv/Junkun killings

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to tradional and religious leaders to intervene in the protracted fight between Junkun and Tiv tribes in Taraba State.

The President also called on the government and people of Benue and Taraba states to exercise restraint in the wake of the gruesome killing of Rev. Fr. David Tanko in Kpankufu Village, Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The President made the appeal in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday.

President Buhari also directed the Taraba and Benue state governors and other stakeholders to meet urgently to bring an end to the persistent violent clashes between Jukun and Tiv people.

According to him, the stakeholders should include traditional rulers, specifically the Tor Tiv and the Aku Uka of Wukari, as well as religious and community leaders in the two states.

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The President noted that the murder of the Catholic Priest highlights the urgency of addressing “this embarrassing and persistent conflict”, describing such frenzy of human destruction, violent attacks on people and property in the communities by the warring parties as “unacceptable’’.

The President ,however, vowed that the Federal Government would not sit idly and watch the deep-seated antagonistic relationship between the Tiv and Jukun people fester.

He said: ”I have watched with trepidation and disbelief how hate and bigotry had inhabited the human soul, resulting in brothers killing brothers.

”On behalf of the Federal government and the entire people of the country, I offer my condolences to the Catholic community, the government and people of Taraba over the losses arising from recent incidents involving the warring communities.

“The persistent deaths and destruction and the seeming desire by the warring sides to push each other to extinction is embarrassing, and this is against the essence of our ethnic and religious diversity in the country.

“Progress is impossible where violence and destruction are allowed to dominate our daily lives.”

According to him, the Tiv/Jukun violence is one of Nigeria’s most persistent and intractable security problems.

Assuring the affected communities that the Federal Government would not leave them to their fate or treat cases of communal violence with levity and indifference, the President added: “The deployment of security men can only provide a temporary solution.

”The long term and lasting solution to this deep-seated antagonistic relationship between the warring factions depend on the willingness of those involved to listen to reason and give peace a chance.

“It is time for leaders of the ethnic groups to come together and draw up a road map for lasting peace.

“The impact of this persistent violence on the social and economic life of the people is incalculable.”

 

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