The Nigerian government said Tuesday that there should no forgiveness or mercy for terrorists.
President Muhammadu Buhari stated this in his first response to the killings in Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria.
This was just as details of the invasion and attacks on Kanam and Wase communities emerged.
President Buhari and the Nigerian authorities had issued similar responses in the past killings.
The President described the killings as heinous, saying that the perpetrators should not be allowed to escape justice.
“They should not be spared or forgiven,” directed the President.
He ordered law enforcement agencies to work strenuously with the government of the state, to bring the situation under control and take steps to bring the culprits to justice quickly.
President Buhari expressed condolences over the terrorist incident, saying that as a matter of priority, peace must return at all costs to the state and the entire country.
“I urge all our citizens, the people of Plateau State in particular to expose the perpetrators of such incidents, their sponsors and those who encourage such criminals who carry out these dastardly acts of murder, so that the law will take its course. They must not be forgiven,” the President said.