The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has warned politicians to desist from politicizing recent killings across some states of the federation. The Vice President made the call on Sunday in Abuja at the Inter-denominational church service for the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration. He explained that the current administration has observed with dismay that some people are exploiting the situation in Benue, Rivers, Adamawa and Plateau to score cheap political gains.
He appealed to such politicians to desist from such act, as the development is currently stoking the embers of ethnicity and religion through hate speeches. He also assured that the government would intensify efforts toward ensuring the safety of lives and properties.
“We have seen even recently the killings that have resulted in attacks of herdsmen on farmers and communities and also where communities have attacked herdsmen.
“The state of violence and loss of lives in Rivers State, the Badoo killings in Lagos and Ogun; the president has ordered the police and armed forces to deal decisively with these killings to ensure that the perpetrators are found and punished.
“But we recognize that as dangerous and deadly, as heartless as these killings are, (there) is also the danger of allowing politics to play a part and to sometimes, as they say, pour petrol into the already burning fire.
“We must not permit the politicization of this tragedy. He said one of the reasons the Boko Haram strife lasted for years was because of the politicization of the insurgency.
“There were those who were planning to benefit politically from the tragedy and they painted the opposition then as the perpetrator.
“Again we have seen some today who want to benefit politically from the killings of women and children in Adamawa, Benue, Jos and several other places, stoking the embers of ethnicity and religion.
“By their hate speeches, they want to fix their criminal acts of a few individuals on the whole tribe and a whole people and will want to create a religious crisis if we allow.
“Our obligation is to stop them from playing dangerous politics that could threaten our unity and stability just as we continue to enforce the peace in the troubled areas. As Bishop Kwasi said, it is the poor and helpless that suffer the most in crisis and it is to this poor and helpless that we have sworn that we will protect and defend."
