IGP meets Buhari, says Benue killings communal

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has described the recent killings in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas of Benue State as a communal crisis in an interview with State House correspondents on Friday, after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting to accusations that the Police Force was being reactionary instead of being proactive in stopping the killings, Idris said: “You know most of these states where you have several languages, you know it is an issue of communal misunderstanding. I think what we should be praying for is for Nigerians to learn to live in peace with each other, I think it is very important. Obviously, it is communal crisis, herdsmen are part of the community. They are Nigerians and are part of the community. Are they not?”

Idris assured that such carnage will not repeat itself. “I deployed my DIG there yesterday and you know we have different stages of police, you have the AIG in Benue, Commissioner of Police in Benue and all of them are putting their heads together to see how we address this issue in Benue,” he said.

Asked why there are escalating killings by herdsmen in parts of Nigeria if the country is secure as he claimed,  he responded: “We are doing all we can to maintain law and order in all parts of the country.”

The IGP said President Buhari gave him a charge to “go and take care and ensure that we tighten our security”.