he Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, on Wednesday disclosed that he is in possession of security reports indicating that some elites within and outside the state plan to ignite religious and ethnic crisis using vulnerable villagers and children.
Bello said the killings in villages across the state were the handiwork of the individuals involved in inciting and making the people who have been living together peacefully over centuries to be at daggers drawn.
He said: “My government has discovered the strategy being used by the inciters; they try the tribal line and if it fails, they will try the religious line.
“It is a pity that such individuals retreat to living rooms with their children watching on television sets how the vulnerable people are burning houses and killing themselves.”
The governor further lamented that the recent Fulani herdsmen and Gbagyi communities clash in Sabon Daga area of the state was caused by external influence resulting from the activities of few elites, adding that the senseless killings that occurred during the crisis was avoidable.
Accordingly, he said: “We will pray God for them to repent and if they refuse to repent, we will pray God to destroy them.
“If we catch any person red handed, we will make example of him in our resolve to peace in the state.
“As the governor of the state, I will not hesitate to sign death warrant of anybody sentenced to death in murder cases relating to communal clashes.”
Bello said those inciting the crisis have the ultimate aim of replicating the incidents in southern Kaduna and in Plateau State, adding that his administration will not allow it to happen.
He called on all residents of the state to be security alert and report strange faces to their traditional rulers or security agencies to avoid infiltration of evil men.
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