I doubt foreigners are involved in Nigeria’s killings – French Ambassador

The outgoing French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, has expressed doubts about the involvement of foreigners in the several killings in the country.
There have been talks about the involvement of foreigners in the numerous killings in the country, especially those suspected to have been carried out by herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents.
Speaking with newsmen on Saturday in commemoration of the 2018 French National Day in Abuja, Gauer identified impunity and injustice as the factors driving the killings and bloodshed in Plateau, Benue and Kaduna States and other parts of the country.
The envoy attributed the killings to struggle for land, adding that foreigners, including those alleged to be from Libya, were not involved in the bloodshed in the Middle Belt region.
He said: “The reason for the killings is demography.
“Some people are fighting for land.
“So there must be direct policy to develop agriculture and animal husbandry.
“I think impunity is encouraging the killings and those responsible must be punished.
“I don’t believe foreigners are involved in the killings.
“The second is justice.
“When there is that kind of killing, there must be proper prosecution and perpetrators must be properly sentenced.
“If that does not happen, then, it cannot end.”
Gauer noted that foreign investors and partners would not be willing to invest in the affected areas on account of the security challenges there.
He said Nigeria has recorded great progress against Boko Haram, but the sect had not been eliminated.