The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Sunday condemned the killing of dozens of Fulanis in Numan area of Adamawa State. The sultan, foremost traditional ruler in Northern Nigeria, warned that the Fulani’s patience and silence over recent killings of their kinsmen in Adamawa should not be misconstrued for weakness.

He called for through investigation in to the recent killings in four Numan villages in Adamawa State by suspected persons of the Bachama ethnic group. No group has, however, claimed responsibility for the killings. Speaking in Yola on Sunday during the commissioning of Pulaaku FM, a radio station owned by the Lamido of Adamawa, Muhammadu Barkindo, Mr. Abubakar condemned the massacre of the dozens of women and children in Shaforon, Kikem and Kodemti villages in Numan.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the Numan killing on Monday with the police confirming the murder of 30 women and children by the attackers.

The sultan, who was represented by the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, stressed that government and other relevant security authorities should thoroughly investigate those involved for peace to reign.

“May I use this opportunity to sympathise with people of Adamawa State, on the recent incident in Numan; and to appeal to security services, to thoroughly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to book,” he said.

“We have not forgotten what happened to Fulanis in Mambilla, Taraba State and we are still waiting for action from the security services.”.

The sultan then gave the warning agains misconstruing “patience for weakness.” “It is important to remember, that at many points in our history, we make mistakes of confusing patience for weakness.

“I hope, we would not make that mistake this time; what happened in Numan would not go unpunished,” he said.

The police are yet to prosecute anyone for the Numan killings.

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