Herdsmen banditry will not be tolerated – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari declared on Friday that Nigeria has had enough of incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers across the country.

He said government had, accordingly, mandated security agencies to put an end to the problem.

“On the matter of herdsmen/farmers clashes, I wish to state that this administration will not tolerate or condone acts of banditry and criminality, under any guise. As such, our security agencies have been mandated to deal with such acts decisively,” Buhari said at the graduation of members of Course 24 of the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja.

His administration, he also said, was committed to tackling the issues of underdevelopment and neglect in the Niger Delta region.

“This is a priority we have set before us and we intend to make appreciable gains in correcting the ills of the past in the Niger Delta by assuaging inherent grievances,” he said, adding that government has been working assiduously in conjunction with local and international partners to rebuild damaged communities in the North East part of the country.”

Buhari said, “You will all recall that on being sworn into office on May 29, 2015, I outlined certain core areas of our national life that require immediate intervention, some of which I would like to reiterate here today.

“First, we should seek to secure the country, improve the economy and fight corruption. As it is, this is our unfinished business from the past and dates back to the creation of our republic, yet to this day, corruption and poverty remain our main national problems.

“As part of efforts to address the problem of corruption, we have set in motion legal processes to recover whatever we can and bring to justice those who betrayed their trust. Thus far, we have been able to recover billions of naira from indicted companies and individuals.

“In addition, through the implementation and enforcement of the Treasury Single Account, we have been able to save more for our nation.”