Reacting to last weekend’s attack by militant Fulani herdsmen in three local government areas of Plateau State in which over a hundred people were killed, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday lamented that human life was increasingly becoming cheap in Nigeria.

While heaping  blame on some politicians whom he accused of taking advantage of the killings in parts of the country, Buhari said some desperate people have continued to pursue their quest for instability and chaos with the aim of gaining an advantage in the coming elections.

In a statement issued on Monday through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari noted that although a number of geographical and economic factors were contributing to the longstanding clashes between herdsmen and farmers, politicians were taking advantage of the unfortunate situation.

According to the statement, information available to the Presidency indicated that about 100 cattle had been rustled by a community in Plateau State while some herdsmen were killed in the process.

The President regretted the fact that the violence broke out less than 24 hours after the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong had invited aggrieved groups and pleaded against further action while law enforcement agents investigated the matter.

The statement added: “Some local thugs then took advantage of the situation, turning it into an opportunity to extort the public, and to attack people from rival political parties.

“There were reports of vehicles being stopped along the roads in the state, with people being dragged out of their cars and attacked if they stated that they supported certain politicians or political party.

“On his way back to Jos after attending the All Progressives Congress’ Convention in Abuja, the state governor had to dismantle a number of illegal road blocks set up by these thugs.

“There were also a number of dead bodies thugs had killed, lying along the road.”