- Asks Police To Go ‘Ruthless’ On Arsonists
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday left nothing for Nigerians to chew on the recent ban slammed on Twitter operations in Nigeria by his administration as he kept mum on the mouthwatering decision during a live interview on Arise TV, monitored by The New Diplomat.
Asked to comment on the ban during the conversation, Buhari simply said:“I will keep that to myself,” even though many had hoped to better understand the President’s thinking on the decision while speaking from heart on camera.
Last week, Twitter had deleted President Buhari’s tweet on the ‘Nigerian Civil War’ experience, described as controversial for violating Twitter Community rules. Following the deletion, the government hit back by banning Twitter operations in Africa’s most populous country, where the micro-blogging app has about 40 million users, an action that sparked instant local and international backlash from citizens, groups and foreign missions in the country.
Speaking on the security threats in the Southeast, Buhari insisted on military solution in the region, where members of the Eastern Security Network, a militia-wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been blamed for incessant attacks on public infrastructures and innocent citizens in the region.
“We will organise the police and the army to pursue them..We will respond to them in the language they understand, that is what we will do,” President Buhari said.
On the widespread unrest in the country, Buhari said he has ordered the police to be “ruthless” in reacting to violence, promising more measures soon.
He said, “We have given the Police the directive to be ruthless with people stealing another person’s belongings and destroying others’ property. You will see that there will be a difference in coming weeks.”
Responding to a question on the allegations that he has continued to favour Nigerians of northern extraction over their Southern counterparts, Buhari averred that he will not appoint somebody to fill a particular position “just to balance up”, saying that appointees must have earned the positions.
“They trained in Zaria or Abeokuta, they come through the ranks and because they served under all the circumstances, the crises and everything and they gradually rise to the status.
“And you think, you will just pick somebody just to balance up. These positions have to be earned. There are people who have been there for 10 to 15 years.” Buhari added.
