Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an immediate end to the on-going violence in the Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, which has in the past 24 hours led to a yet to be ascertained number of deaths and arson.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari strongly condemned the violence.
He noted that so far, there have been claims and counter claims as who restarted the killings and arson between the neighbouring communities of Nsadop community and the Boje community.
While the origin of the mayhem is still unclear, President Buhari noted that no dispute or grievance is worth the violent snatching away of another person’s life.
“Nigerians must learn to live peacefully with each other and seek less brutish means of resolving conflicts. Our country does not need another war,” he said.
President Buhari commend thy e security agencies are already intervening to bring an end to the crisis.
He called on the Cross River State government and the Boki local government authorities to immediately look into the crisis and take action to ensure that this unfortunate situation is resolved both in the short and long terms.
Meanwhile, The President also expressed sadness over the death of 13 French soldiers who died after a helicopter accident during an operation against terrorists in Mali on Tuesday.
In a separate statement by Shehu, Buhari said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of this helicopter accident that claimed the lives of 13 French soldiers during an operation against the terrorists in the country.”
He noted that the incident is of significance to Nigeria because France is a major international partner in the war against terrorism.
“We recognise France’s extensive experience in the war on terror and their assistance to African countries, including Nigeria, to tackle terrorism that poses the greatest security threat to the affected countries. Terrorism is a global problem that demands international cooperation, and I praise the efforts of the French government in assisting us in confronting this monster,” he said.
The President called on the French government not to allow this unfortunate incident to dampen its enthusiasm in terms of her active support towards fighting terrorism in Africa.