President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, condemned the rise in ritual killings and deadly attacks on on-duty policemen in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Zamfara and Ogun States.
Buhari in a statement released by his media aide, Garba Shehu, on Thursday in Abuja, said incidents of ritual killings, hate crimes and killing of law enforcement officers are aberrations.
While expressing the sympathy of the nation to families of the victims, Buhari urged law enforcement agencies, state governments, local authorities, community and religious leaders to take all lawful actions to prevent further incidents of this nature.
He also charged the security agencies to put in place measures against the normalisation of these primitive acts, hate crimes and acts of terror.
Buhari charged the courts to apply “The strictest of punishment under our laws to the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.
“No person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands.”
He further re-emphasised the need for all Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper and should see an attack, “be it verbal or physical on anyone, as an attack on the very essence that keeps us as a nation.’’
Buhari also commended the government of Abia for the actions it has so far taken on the incident a few days ago against traders at the New Cattle Market, in Ukwa Local Government Area of the state and appealed for calm.
He also expressed his sympathies to the families of those killed and suffered loss of property following the attacks.