British Lawmakers Tackle Buhari over herdsmen killing

Herdsmen Killings: British Lawmakers Tackle Buhari

“Despite the herder militia taking more lives during 2015, 2016 and 2017 than Boko Haram, President Buhari, who belongs to the same ethnic group, has been accused of turning a blind eye.”

Members of the United Kingdom House of Lords have expressed their displeasure with President Muhammadu Buhari's handling of ongoing killings linked to herdsmen.

The senior lawmakers at the upper chamber of the British Parliament said the latest killings in Plateau State have placed Nigeria’s collective existence on the edge, 

They calling on Buhari to take immediate steps to address the crisis rather than paying lip service to random incidents with press statements.

“Despite the herder militia taking more lives during 2015, 2016 and 2017 than Boko Haram, President Buhari, who belongs to the same ethnic group, has been accused of turning a blind eye,” a member, Denis Tunnicliffe, said during a debate on the herdsmen crisis June 28.

“Beyond intermittent verbal condemnations, I cannot see much practical action that has been taken to end the violence, which has emboldened perpetrators even further,” another lawmaker David Alton said while opening the debate.

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“Moreover, in the light of such an inadequate response thus far, communities will begin—and indeed already are beginning—to feel that they can no longer rely on government for protection or justice, and a few take matters into their own hands,” Alton added.

The lawmakers debated on a report by the Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which found that 1,061 people were killed in 106 attacks linked to herdsmen between January and April.

In her contribution, Elizabeth Berridge expressed misgivings about continuous classification of the killings as farmers-herders clashes, saying a pattern has emerged that contradicts such narrative.

“It is surely too simplistic to label these deaths as driven solely by desertification and competition for resources,” Ms Berridge said. “While there have been attacks by Fulani herdsmen on Muslim farmers in Zamfara State, these are overwhelmingly outnumbered by attacks on Christians.”

Herridge said there are strong indications to hold that terrorist elements, perhaps including Boko Haram, are involved in the killings.