Osinbajo orders security reinforcement in Kaduna

• Vows to prosecute perpetrators
• Attacks not incited by herdsmen, says CP
• Police confirm 34 death toll
• Taraba Assembly passes anti-grazing bill

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has ordered further security reinforcement in Kaduna State following reports of communal clashes that resulted in loss of lives. Osinbajo also commiserated with families of the victims, the government and people of Kaduna State, and wished the injured victims speedy recovery.

He also commended the prompt response and efforts of the state government and those of the security agencies. In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, the Acting President said the security challenges in Southern Kaduna was a source of concern to the Federal Government and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians.

Osinbajo assured that no effort would be spared in identifying and bringing perpetrators of these dastardly acts against innocent Nigerians to justice no matter how long or hard it may take.

Also, the Acting President condemned the recent abduction of women which occurred in Borno State. He directed the military and intelligence agencies to take all steps, including co-ordinating with international partners, to rescue the abducted women, as well as ensure further tightening of security in and around Borno State.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Agyole Abeh, has refuted the allegations that the Fulani herdsmen stirred up the Kajuru killings in the southern part of Kaduna.

He said 34 and not 37 people lost their lives during the crises. The CP, at a press briefing with journalists at the Police Headquarters, Kaduna Command, said he does not subscribe to people’s insinuations that the fresh crises in Kajuru was incited by Fulani herdsmen.

He stated that previous attacks carried out by some suspects should not be used as a yardstick to make conclusion that aggressors must be Fulani herdsmen. The CP, who condemned the attack as most callous and barbaric, appealed to members of the press to make adequate verification before disseminating information. He said calm had returned to the troubled Southern Kaduna communities.

In a related development, the Taraba State House of Assembly has unanimously passed into law the controversial open anti-grazing bill. The passage, according to the Speaker, would promote modern techniques of animal husbandry, particularly the rearing of livestock.

However, the state Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Taraba Association of Nigeria, Sahabi Mahmud, said the law would not see the light of the day.