Pro-democracy and good governance group, Concerned Nigerians, has rejected the report by the Nigerian army which exonerated itself from the allegation raised by the former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister, General Theophilus Y. Danjuma that soldiers in Taraba colluded with armed Fulani bandits to kill locals.
Danjuma
The group also rejected the reasons given by the army wherein the Nigerian military claimed the porous border between Nigeria and the Cameroon is a major cause of the insecurity of lives in Taraba state and other middle belt states.
In a statement by its Convener, Deji Adeyanju, the group said Gen. Danjuma cannot make flimsy claims especially being that he had been in the army’s helm of affairs before and therefore, knows the in-out of the military and what it is capable of.
Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai / AFP
Recall that General Danjuma had alleged that some soldiers of the Nigerian army had and may still be colluding with armed Fulani bandits to maim lives in the middle belt region.
However, the Nigerian army, rising from a committee of inquiry, came out with a report exonerating itself from any blame or collusion whatsoever in the crime.
But the Concerned Nigerians group, in its statement, rejected army’s report, saying the army cannot be the judge in its own case.
The group called for an independent Judicial commission of Inquiry to be constituted to look into the allegation raised by General Danjuma.
The statement reads thus:
“We have read the report by the Nigerian Army exonerating itself from the allegation made by Former Chief Of Army Staff and Defence Minister, General Theophilus Y. Danjuma that soldiers in Taraba are colluding with armed bandits to kill locals.
“It is pertinent to note that General T.Y Danjuma is not a man that throws words around, and for a former Chief of Army Staff who has an understanding of how the military works to make such weighty allegation against the Nigerian Army, it means there is more to the story than meets the eye.
“An allegation such as this demands a thorough investigation on the activities of the Troops in Taraba State. We are of the belief that the Nigerian Army, in a quest to exonerate itself, hurriedly released a report that fails to address the allegation made by T.Y Danjuma.
The group said a national daily gave a detailed account of Nigerians that have been killed by herdsmen in Benue, Taraba, and other parts of North Central in one of its reports.
It also said that “A report by Global Terrorism Index, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and the Stefanus Foundation, based in the United States and Nigeria, respectively, revealed that the Fulani militants are fourth most lethal and deadly terror group in the world.”
“Why has the government of Nigeria refused to designate herdsmen as a terror group despite the available facts on ground that the group is responsible for hundreds and thousands of deaths in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria?
“We are not satisfied with the report and Nigerian Army cannot be the Judge in its own case. We, therefore, demand the full disclosure of the Human Rights Organization, CSOs that were part of the committee.
“We also demand that an independent Judicial commission of Inquiry be constituted to look into the allegation.
“We are equally concerned about the shameful excuse given by the Army that “The Nigeria-Cameroon common borders in Taraba State are porous.”
“The Statutory responsibility of the Army is to protect our territorial integrity and not giving excuses such as this.”