Federal Govt Summons Burkina Faso Envoy Over Killing Of 16 Nigerians

The Nigerian Government has taken a bold step to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing of 16 Nigerian intending Muslim pilgrims to Kaolack, Senegal over a month ago allegedly by security forces of Burkina Faso.

Minister of  State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada  summoned in his office, the Burkina Faso Charge D’Affaires Passida Pascal Gouba to Nigeria over the gruesome murder and demanded a detailed explanation of what really happened when the 16 Nigerians were brutally killed allegedly by some members of Burkinabe Military.

He said Nigerians were agitated by the incident and are calling for a faster and comprehensive response from the Government of Burkina Faso, a statement by Ibrahim Aliyu, Special Assistant Media, to the Minister of State said.

The Minister expressed dismay over what he described as ‘unnecessary delay’ to find out the truth about the ugly incident. He said families of the victims are asking questions and therefore there was the need to hasten the investigation already started by the Burkinabe government.

Ambassador Dada added that Nigeria will not fold its arms and see its citizens being killed or violated anywhere in the world.

The Charge D’ Affairs of the Burkina Faso embassy in Nigeria, Gouba, who first commiserated with the families of the victims as well as the government and the people of Nigeria over what he described as an unfortunate incident, said they understood the pains that the families of the deceased were going through.

He said investigation has already commenced to fish out the actual perpetrators of the killing by the Burkinabe Government, adding that his country is  ready to work with a team of experts from Nigeria to unravel what really happened.

Mr. Gouba while reiterating his country’s total commitment to the investigation, said preliminary results have shown that terrorists harboring the area were responsible for the killings as the area is a no-go area for the both the Military and civilian population due to the activities of insurgents.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Dada has met with the representative of  Tijaniyyah Group led by the Secretary General of the Islamic Group, Mallam Muhammad Alkassim Yahya who briefed him further on the incident prior to meeting the Burkinabe Envoy.