The Federal Government (FG) has appealed to the media and public commentators
to exercise utmost restraint in their coverage of the fallouts of the what it described as recent
farmers and herders clash in Benue State in order not to further inflame passion
and worsen the situation, reports NaijaAgroNet.
In a press statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, and made available to NaijaAgroNet, the Minister of Informationand Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said while the Federal Government is working
hard to address the situation with a view to preventing a recurrence, not just
in Benue State but everywhere across the country, it is incumbent on the media
and public commentators not to engage in actions that can aggravate the crisis.
''Lest we are misunderstood, we are neither saying the media
should not cover the crisis nor asking public commentators to desist from commenting
on it. All we are saying is that both must be circumspect.
''The current poisoned atmosphere of incendiary comments,
unrestrained use of pictures and footages that offend human sensibilities as
well as fingerpointing can only exacerbate the situation and complicate ongoing
efforts to end the crisis,'' he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said the Federal Government is absolutely
saddened by the loss of lives and the destruction of property resulting from
the crisis, and recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, in commiserating with
the Benue Governor, unreservedly condemned the killings and also assured of the
necessary security measures to prevent further attacks and bring the
perpetrators to book.
He said the Federal Government has also mapped out short and
long-term solutions to the incessant clashes between farmers and herders, including
a planned conference of stakeholders, and assured of the government's strong
determination to find a lasting solution to the farmers/herders' clashes.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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