President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, said individuals responsible for the deaths of a number of tourists, including 16 Nigerians, in Burkina Faso, would face “due sanctions.”
He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the Burkinabe authorities through the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso to ensure that the troops who are suspected of shooting and killing the Muslim Pilgrims are brought to justice.
This information was disclosed by Buhari in a statement headlined “President Buhari deems killing of Nigerians in Burkina Faso regrettable” that was released on Monday and was signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Read Also: Lagos State Police Arrest Suspected Yoruba Nation Agitators
The Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen Attijaniyya of Nigeria announced at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja that 16 of its members had been killed by Burkinabe soldiers on patrol.
They were reportedly on their way to the home country of their leader, Sheikhul-islam Ibrahim Niasse in Senegal, when they met their untimely death.
The national secretary of the Islamic group, Sayyidi Yahaya, said that the Ansaruddeen members were “randomly selected and cold-bloodedly shot to death in a most horrendous display of bestiality,” after being stopped the Burkinabe soldiers.
Reacting to the incident on Monday, Buhari said he “received the tragic news of the murder of a number Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Kaolak, Senegal, when the buses conveying them came under gun attack in Burkina Faso.”
The President expressed his condolences and prayed for the safety of other Nigerians stranded there.
He also revealed that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso, is engaging with the Burkinabe authorities and awaits the outcome of their investigation of the unfortunate incident, and if necessary, to ensure that all culprits are appropriately sanctioned.”
Buhari added that the Nigerian Government will make every effort to secure the mortal remains of the deceased and the survivors of the attack.
