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The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has said President Muhammadu Buhari and his government would be held responsible should any northerner fall victim of the consequences of the concerns they raised about the safety of Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of the country.
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Buhari had told Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of the country to ignore northern elders’ statement urging them to leave southern Nigeria.
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However, not convinced by the assurance of safety from the presidency, CNG’s spokesperson, Abdul-Aziz Suleiman, said in a statement made available in Abuja that while they welcomed the assurance by the president, they were not oblivious of the fact that the lives of their kinsmen were not secure in the southern part of the country.
“CNG wholeheartedly welcomes the assurance given by Mr. President and his government to protect and guarantee the safety of all Nigerians anywhere they are, including the threatened herdsmen in the South.
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“We, however, wish to remind Mr. President and the government that northerners would hold them fully responsible should any one of them fall victim of the consequences of the concerns we raised,” he said.
Suleiman said he was amazed at the denial of southern leaders that they did not declare war on herders following the killing of the daughter of an Afenifere chieftain by those he called “unknown assassins”.
The group, in conjunction with the Northern Elders Forum, had asked Fulani herdsmen to immediately return to the north if their security was no longer guaranteed in the southern part of the country.
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The statement read: “Recall that on July 11 2019 in response to reactions that trailed our earlier submissions, we issued a statement acknowledging the committed concern of the Northern Governors Forum and the Northern Elders Forum in bringing an end to the tensions instigated around the farmers-herders problems.
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“In that response, we indicated our acceptance of the invitation for discussions by the leadership of the two forums as a result of which a meeting with the northern elders was fixed for Tuesday.
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