President Muhammadu Buhari has broken his silence on the spike of killings by bandits in Zamfara State.
Mr Buhari’s reaction comes a day after a protest demanding his intervention held in Abuja.
During the exercise on Saturday, Kadaria Ahmed, a veteran journalist, described Abdulaziz Yari, the state governor as the most useless governor nationwide. She also requested to intervention of the president to halt the situation.
Reacting on Sunday, Buhari said it was ridiculous and unfair to accuse him of doing nothing to curtail the killings in the state and the country at large.
The president who is outside the shores of the country stated this in a statement reproduced through his social media accounts.
“It is ridiculous and unfair to suggest that I am not concerned about the situation in Zamfara, or doing anything about it. Ensuring the protection of the people of Nigeria is one of my primary responsibilities and functions. No other issue dominates my attention as much,” Buhari said.
“We are fully determined to tackle this challenge ferociously until these remorseless killers are crushed and utterly defeated. We have deployed security agents to all the areas currently under attack, and we are constantly finetuning and escalating our security strategy.
“I am constantly in touch with the security chiefs, and receive regular briefings on the situation in Zamfara and across the country. Let me assure that we will continue to do everything to motivate and equip them to respond effectively to all our security challenges.
“Operation Sharan Daji, and the newly-launched Operation Puff Adder are focused on Zamfara, Kaduna (including the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway), Katsina, Kogi, and Niger States. These are all multi-agency Operations, bringing together the Military, Police, the DSS, and others.
“I want to appeal to Nigerians that we should not politicize this tragic situation in Zamfara. How can I be indifferent to the senseless killings and kidnapping of my fellow citizens by bandits, and the deep trauma and impoverishment that these attacks inflict on them?
“Let me again offer our deepest condolences to all the victims and their families and loved ones. We feel your pains, and there is nothing more important to me at this time than ensuring that these bandits and criminals are completely neutralized,” the president said.