…President Buhari condemns killings
About 16 Nigerian members of the Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen Attijaniyya sect were brutally killed on their way to Kaolak, Senegal, when the buses carrying them were attacked by gunmen in Burkina Faso.
According to a statement by the movement’s National Secretary, Sayyidi Mohammad AlQasim Yahaya, on the fateful day, Nigerian worshippers in a convoy of luxurious mini-buses were stopped by the Burkinabe army on patrol and ordered to dismount.
He noted that they were “randomly selected and cold-bloodedly shot to death in a most horrendous display of bestiality”.
They were said to be on their way to Senegal, the home nation of their leader, Sheikhul-Islam Alhaji Ibrahim Niasse.
He said this ignoble act is against all known international convention and human rights charter globally, stressing that extant laws and conventions that guaranteed the sanctity and inviolability of human lives, irrespective of their origin and creed has been violated.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has condemned the incident.
In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to engage with Burkinabe authorities and awaits the outcome of their inquiry into the regrettable incident, as well as the necessary punishment of the perpetrators.
See full statement below.
President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder of a number of 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.
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.
The Nigerian Government will make every effort to secure the mortal remains of the deceased and the survivors of the attack.