Afenifere group in the United Kingdom and Europe, has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him to go after and arrest bandits who have killed over 1,500 Nigerians in 2021 alone.
Afenifere urged Buhari to leave Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Igboho, who is not a criminal.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Secretary of the group in the UK and Europe, Anthony Kayode, the group berated Buhari for criminalising an “innocent Igboho instead of those kidnapping, killing and making life a living hell in Nigeria.”
Afenifere said, “Why is Buhari government looking for Igboho to jail him by all means? Is Igboho responsible for destruction and killings going on daily across Nigeria particularly the Northern region? Why are they not looking for Boko Haram, bandits, killer herdsmen that are terrorising the country to jail them? Over 30 women and kids were massacred and over 50 houses razed in Ochoro, a neighboring community of Bonta and Ukpute in Benue State on Tuesday July 21, 2021; what is stopping President Buhari from going after the perpetrators?
“At least over 25,794 people were killed in various attacks during the first term of President Buhari between May 2015 and May 2019. Boko Haram was responsible for the deaths of, at least over 5,598 people in the last four years while herdsmen and bandits caused the death of over 4,068 persons.
“Attacks by different armed actors which continue to this day have frequently included the burning of homes and barns, rustling of livestock and dispossession of property, and acts of sexual violence. Women and girls are often abducted and raped by armed group members. In some cases, women and girls are gang-raped in the presence of family members.
“In the first six weeks of 2021, lives of no fewer than 1,525 persons were wasted across the country. The 1,525-death figure, which is conservative, covers only reported cases arising from the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, herdsmen crisis, kidnapping, communal and cult clashes, armed robbery, and brutality of security agents among others.
“The herdsmen crisis is one of the reasons the country is boiling now following prevailing incidents in many Southern states especially Oyo, Ondo and Ogun that Igboho represents.
“We therefore urged President Buhari and his team to face the real criminals in Nigeria and leave Igboho alone.”
