President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday, promised to protect all ethnic and religious groups in the country.
The president told governors and traditional rulers to prevent primordial sentiments from boiling over.
He warned that he would not allow any ethnic or religious group to stoke up hatred and violence against others.
President Buhari spoke amid rising ethnic tension and violence in many parts of the country as a result of the activities of some criminal herdsmen.
Many people have been killed and properties destroyed in different parts of the country.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has outlawed open grazing by herders and governors have been asked to take steps to end the incessant herders-farmers conflicts.
President Buhari’s statement, issued by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said, “President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that his government will protect all religious and ethnic groups, whether majority or minority in line with its responsibility under the constitution.
“In a reaction to reports of the breakout of violence in some parts of the country by some ethnic and sectional groups, President Buhari warned that the government will not allow any ethnic or religious group to stoke up hatred and violence against other groups.
“The President condemned such violence and gave the assurance that his government will act decisively to stop the spread of any such violence.
“He appealed to religious and traditional leaders as well as governors and other elected leaders across the country to join hands with the Federal Government to ensure that communities in their domain are not splintered along ethnic,” the president said.