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  • Killings: Taraba govt, others reject Army’s report on Danjuma’s allegation

    The Taraba State Government and the Jukun Development Association of Nigeria (JDAN) have rejected the “no guilty” verdict of the Gen. John Nimyel’s panel, which investigated Gen. T.Y. Danjuma’s allegations of criminal acts of collusion by the army in the killings of innocent people in the state.

    In a statement issued yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, the government said it was baffled on why the panel would return a verdict of not guilty to the army, when military’s “atrocious activities” were documented and known within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

    The government described the report as an extension of the army’s bias, which “it exhibited and has continued to exhibit over the crises”.

    It said with the verdict, the army has proved once again the appropriateness of the popular axiom that one cannot and should not sit in judgment in a case in which it is also the accused.

    “The army under General Tukur Buratai, lacks the courage, capacity and fair mindedness to do what is right to protect victims of the herdsmen massacres committed not only in Taraba State but also in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Zamfara and Kogi states,” the statement said.

    It said the verdict of not guilty did not surprise the people because they had watched in awe as the soldiers, who were meant to preserve lives and quell the marauding killings of the herdsmen, had looked the other way when the killings took place.

    “We in Taraba State and all other Nigerians who have followed the Army’s shocking acts of looking the other way while the massacres raged in these parts of the country are not surprised by the verdict of ‘not guilty’, which the army panel returned in favour of the army. The case of the Army’s culpability in the killings is very widely known and acknowledged within and outside the shores of this country. It is on record that even Amnesty International had reason to condemn the Army’s lukewarm attitude to the killings in the past.

    “The Army and other security agencies did not only fail to stop the killings anywhere and everywhere its soldiers were deployed, they deliberately promoted it by looking the other way so that the killers could have unhindered access to their unarmed and helpless victims.”

    JDAN, at a news conference in Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday denounced the report and demanded the setting up of an independent judicial panel of enquiry to conduct an unbiased investigation into the allegations of military complicity in the killings.

    Its National President, Chief Bako Benjamin, had said the panel’s report, falls far short of expectations and can at best be described as a shoddy job fit for the waste bin.

    He lamented that rather than give hope of justice to the families of the innocent farmers and other villagers hacked down by the herdsmen, the Army merely engaged in “empty rhetoric” of setting up of panels to cleanse themselves of wrong doings, a practice, for which he said, they are becoming notorious for.

    According to him, the Nigerian Army yet again missed another opportunity to cleanse itself of allegations of gross abuse levelled against them by Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma and human rights organisations, including Amnesty International (AI).

    “The Nigerian Army panel did a very poor and unprofessional job and wasted the opportunity to scribble their names in gold. The report is unacceptable to Jukun people and therefore it is hereby rejected in its entirety,” he said.

    He wondered why the principal characters (Fulani herdsmen) accused of precipitating the crisis that gave birth to Gen. Danjuma’s allegations were never mentioned in the report.

    The panel, he stated, almost completely avoided the main subject of the matter, which were the attacks and killing of farmers and innocent villagers, but was addressing porous borders and past misunderstandings between brothers in a deliberate attempt to stir up tempers and portray Jukuns as historically troublesome.

    “It is also curious that the panel deliberately refused to use a single material out of the hundreds of documented paper works, audio and video recordings of witnesses, community leaders and youth groups with shocking and gruesome evidences of ethnic cleansing and genocide in more than 20 villages across southern Taraba,” he said.

     

  • Danjuma’s allegations on Taraba killings baseless – Buratai

    The Nigerian Army on Friday said allegations against it by retired Gen. T.Y Danjuma that it colluded with the militia in Taraba State and refused to protect the people were untrue.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made this known at a news conference in Abuja where he gave details of the findings of the 10-member panel the Army constituted to probe the allegations.

    The panel, which comprised serving and retired army personnel, representatives of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), was set up on April 10. It submitted its report of April 25.

    Danjuma, on March 24 at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo, alleged that some troops on internal operation in Taraba colluded with killers and herdsmen who attacked communities in the state.

    He said that the troops failed to protect the residents against the attacks.

    “You must rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die.

    “I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country, defend your state,” he admonished.

    Danjuma said that the unnecessary killings, which were akin to “an act of ethnic cleansing” being perpetrated against the people of Taraba specifically and Nigeria at large, must stop.

    He accused the military of being part of the killings.

    But Buratai, who was represented by Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, Chief of Military/Civil Affairs, said: “With respect to the statement by Lt.-Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, it is clear that the allegations were not true.

    “There is a need to urge for caution on the part of the elder statesman in view of the security implication of such comments.’’

    Buratai exonerated the army, saying that there was no collusion between it and bandits in Taraba as alleged by the former chief of army staff.

    Rather, he said, there was “sustained media campaign to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state’’ without saying who was behind the campaign.

    He stated that the panel found that Taraba governor made several attempts to remove the Commanding Officer of 9 Battalion, Lt.-Col. I.B. Gambari, for “his refusal to be dragged into the state politics’’.

    Buratai also alleged that the chairman of Takum Local Government Area attempted to undermine the authority of the commanding officer but did not give details.

    He commended the officer and troops on operation in the state for their professional conduct.

    According to the army chief, most of the crises over the years in Taraba were, particularly in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna Local Government Areas.

  • Buratai receives Panel Report on Gen Danjuma claims

    The Chief of Army Staff, (COAS) Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, yesterday received the report of an army panel set up to investigate the allegations raised by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Theophilus Danjuma, on the killings between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Taraba State.

    Danjuma had alleged that the military was in collusion with herdsmen on an ethnic cleansing mission inTaraba State.

    While receiving the six page report at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, Lt Gen Buratai, said the army authorities would make the findings public shortly.

    He added that the higher authorities would be consulted for further action.

    The COAS had on April 9 set up the panel, headed by Maj Gen John Nimyel (Rtd), to investigate the claims by Danjuma and other interest groups in Taraba State, noting that statements from persons like Danjuma “could damage the reputation of the military and could therefore not be ignored.”

    Speaking at the presentation on Wednesday, the panel Chairman, Nimyel, said the report was “painstakingly thorough”, as the panel conducted its investigations and held numerous consultations with stakeholders in several parts of Taraba State with an open mind.

    Buratai however said the reports would help the army to identify the loopholes in the operations and rectify them to address the present challenges.

    “We will take every aspect of this report very seriously; we will make this report available to the appropriate superior authorities.

    “We will also make this report available to the media so that they will see clearly what transpired and to see whether the allegations against the military, particularly the Nigerian Army, are grounded or not, if the allegations are true or not,”Lt Gen Buratai said.

    The army chief also received the report of the panel set up to audit the number of arms and weapons in the possession of the army units and formations, saying that there were concerns over the proliferation of arms and light weapons not only in Nigeria but also across the country’s borders.

    “This verification will assist us to identify if there’s any gaps or loopholes so that we can address the issues immediately. We will do our best to preserve our arms and other vital weapons so that they don’t get into wrong hands,” Buratai added.

  • Self defence call: We’ll make reports on Danjuma’s allegations public – Buratai

    The Nigerian army has promised to make public the findings of the panel it set up to investigate the allegations levelled against it by retired Gen. T.Y. Danjuma.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made the promise on Wednesday when the panel led by its President, Maj.-Gen. John Nimyel, submitted its report.

    Recall that Buratai set up the panel on April 9.

    He also received the report of the 17-member Committee on Arms Verification which he had set up on March 19.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Danjuma had on March 24 at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo had alleged that some troops on internal operation in Taraba collude with killers and suspected herdsmen and did not protect residents against attacks.

    “You must rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die

    “I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country, defend your state,” he had admonished.

    Danjuma’s call had ignited mixed reactions across the country, forcing the army to constitute the panel to get to the root of the allegations.

    But receiving the report, Buratai said: “We will take every aspect of this report very seriously, we will make this report available to appropriate superior authorities.

    “We will also make this report available to the media so that they will see clearly what transpired and to see whether the allegations against the military, particularly the Nigerian army, is grounded or whether it is true or not.’’

    Buratai, who said making the report available to the public would clarify the allegations, thanked the panel members for their painstaking efforts and sacrifice.

    He said that was necessary to put the records straight and safeguard the army’s integrity as an entity with an important stake in the unity and integrity of the country.

    The army chief also promised that the recommendations of the panel would be implemented.

    Earlier, Nimyel said the panel was painstakingly thorough and fair in its extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders before writing its report.

    He said to achieve its terms of reference, the panel visited some flashpoints in the three senatorial districts of the state.

    According to Nimyel, the panel also interfaced with some government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, locals, military unit commanders and other stakeholders.

    He expressed the hope that the report would assist the chief of army staff in taking appropriate decisions that would impact positively not only on the army but Taraba people and Nigeria at large.

    While also receiving the report of the committee on arms, Buratai noted that although arms verification was routine exercise, it, however, became imperative now in view of current challenges.

    He also said that previous experiences, as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the country and across the country ’s borders necessitated the exercise.

    “The verification will assist us to identify if there are any gaps or loopholes so that we can address them immediately.

    “We will do our best to preserve our arms and other vital weapons and indeed the ammunition so that they do not get into the wrong hands,’’ he said.

    Buratai vowed that any officer or commander found to be negligent (in handling arms and ammunition) would be “appropriately sanctioned.’’

    Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the committee, retired Brig.-Gen. Samuel Ayo, said that the report of his committee would assist the army in taking decisions that would further enhance its professionalism.

    He commended the chief of army staff for raising the standard of the army in spite of contemporary challenges.

  • Herdsmen: Danjuma right on call for self-defence – Falana

    Lawyer cum human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) has said the recent advice by the former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) calling on Nigerians to pick up arms for their self defense against killer herdsmen in the country was in order.

    Falana said the Constitution recognises the right to protect one’s self from violent attack.

    He stated these at a training programme on libel organised by the Vintage Press Limited (publishers of The Nation Newspapers) for its reporters.

    The lawyer, who noted that the media has been awash with suggestions that Danjuma’s comments are call to anarchy, said the retired army officer could sue critics of his statement for libel.

    He said: “Some of the reactions on Danjuma’s statement could be libelous. What Danjuma said is accommodated under our Constitution.”

    Falana observed that although Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution recognises the right to life, such right might be lawfully circumscribed in accordance with Section 33(2).

    He added: “Section 33(2) says a person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life if he dies as a result of the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably necessary – for the defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property.

    “If the government is unable to save you as in the case of Benue, Kogi and Zamfara attacks, you have a right to defend and save yourself.

    “So, if you insult Danjuma that he is inciting violence, that could be a ground for him to sue you for libel.”

  • Self defence: Danjuma’s words show Nigerians have lost confidence in Buhari-led govt – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party says the call by a former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen.Theophilus Danjuma(retd.), that Nigerians should defend themselves against killers is a testimony of the “tragic situation which the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress have dragged the nation into.”

    Danjuma had, on Saturday at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University, told Nigerians to defend themselves against killers, saying the Nigerian Armed Forces were not ready to defend them.

    He had said, “There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state (Taraba) and of course, some rural states in Nigeria, we must resist it. We must stop it. Everyone of us must rise up. Our armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians… If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one.”

    The PDP spoke in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, just as the Federal Government said Danjuma’s statement was an invitation to anarchy.

    The opposition party said Danjuma’s statement had justified its stand that the Buhari Presidency and the APC must be held responsible for the agonising state of the nation.

    It added that Nigerians were daily suffering because of the alleged failures of “a grossly incompetent leadership and a deceitful ruling party.”

    The PDP said the statement coming from an army general, a former Chief of Army Staff and a former defence minister of Danjuma’s status was weighty and “directly reflects the ugly situation in the country under the APC.”

    Ologbondiyan said the fact that communities were resorting to self-defence was a clear demonstration that Nigerians across board “have completely lost confidence in President Buhari and the APC.”

    He said, “It is instructive to recall that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida – both former military leaders, army generals and patriots – had earlier raised the issue of continuous bloodletting in our country under the APC and the Buhari presidency.

    “Painfully, the APC-controlled Federal Government has not only failed in finding a solution, it is also contending with allegations of conspiracy and acts that are believed to have emboldened attacks against innocent Nigerians.

    “Nigerians are no longer feeling secure in their land. Our country has, in close to three years, assumed a status of killing fields where defenceless citizens are despoiled, raped and mowed down by insurgents and marauders in Benue, Taraba, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Adamawa, Borno, Plateau, Nasarawa, Rivers, Enugu, Kogi, among other states.

    “Unfortunately, the Federal Government remains aloof and has failed to take decisive steps that will apprehend the masterminds of the carnage.”

    The spokesperson for the main opposition party said the country was witnessing what he described as complete government insensitivity.

    He also said there were allegations of complicity and compromise of security around soft targets and the dishing out of false information, as was the case in Benue, Yobe, Taraba and other states where Nigerians had come under heavy attacks from marauders under the Buhari administration.

    He said, “More intriguing is that the Presidency and the APC Federal Government have refused to clear the air on their roles in the alleged compromise of security in troubled areas, particularly the reported withdrawal of troops from Dapchi prior to the abduction of the schoolgirls.

    “Nigerians have also yet to see the action taken by President Buhari against the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for flouting a presidential order that he should relocate to troubled Benue State in the heat of attacks on the state.

    “Similarly, the strange silence of the Federal Government on the alleged importation of military equipment by APC interests in Kogi State remains ominous.

    “The fact that we now have a situation where the government confesses to back-channel negotiations with insurgents, hasty offering of amnesty to marauders and killers, allegations of round-tripping in billions of naira on alleged shady ransom payments and swap deals with insurgents, also leaves much to be desired under the current circumstances.

    “While we restate our call for a United Nations’ monitored independent inquest into the security situation in our country, we stand with Nigerians in our moment of national despair.”

  • Middle belt group blasts Danjuma, Dogonyaro over claim of Jihad in Nigeria

    A political organization in the Middlebelt under the auspices of Middle Belt People’s Progressive Congress (MBPPC) has come hard on the National Christian Elders Forum, NEF, over its recent claim that Jihad has been launched in Nigeria.

    MBPPC said the claim by the group under the leadership of Solomon Asemota was a deliberate attempt to spark what it termed another conflagration and ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria.

    Recall that the NCEF had last Thursday after a meeting in Abuja claimed they have uncovered plots by some Islamists to impose Sharia ideology on the nation.

    In a communique issued after the meeting, which was attended by Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (retd.), Gen. Zamani Lekwot (retd.), Elder Moses Ihonde, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), Elder Shyngle Wigwe, and Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife the group noted with concern the budding constitutional crisis in the country.

    Reacting, however at a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, Amos Yunusa the President General of the MBPPC said the First NCEF was a highly discredited body, which its membership is overly over populated by some persons with questionable characters,

    Yunusa said most members of the group confidently and conveniently laid the foundation of Nigeria’s present problems of ethno-religious crises and secession agitations, which have continued to linger and plague us as a people and a nation.

    He said, “The permutation is nothing beyond the desire of some self -serving and satanically inclined religious debauches’ to create chaos, anarchy and violence in the guise of representing the interest of Christians in Nigeria. Experiences have indicated that Northern Nigeria, particularly, the Middle Belt region is a fertile ground for such crises. Our elite have always exploited the innocence and vulnerability of our people, as NCEF presently postures, to create this confusion to ignite an eventual ethno-religious conflagration.

    “They cannot today throw a satanic slap on our faces by accusing President Muhammedu Buhari of causing what they described as the “current” spate of ethno-religious crisis; agitations for secession in Nigeria, promoting jihadists agenda, herders/ farmers clashes and the disrespect for Nigeria’s Constitution and federal character principle.

    “It is more bemusing to unearth the persona inside some of the personalities in NCEF who are mouthing sanctimoniously about concern for Nigeria, sanity and Christianity. In the NCEF meeting in Abuja, last Thursday, retired generals like TY Danjuma, Joshua Dogonyaro and Zamani Lekwot and the former Governor of old Anambra state, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife were among a retinue of others who graced the parley and released a public statement pontificating about saintliness.”

    The MBPP leader said the so-called Christian elders and self-styled elder statesmen unfortunately felt adopting the Nigerian usual game of bulk passing of blame to President Buhari would cleanse them of their repulsive past.

    He added, “In their infantile reasoning, they erroneously thought, they could hide their dark misdeeds, with the diction of “current” problems in Nigeria and effectively blind every Nigerian to any sense of history and the subtle incitement to begin another mass massacre of themselves along religious, ethnic and political persuasions

    “Except Gen. Danjuma flaunts a conscience that is dead, or else he would have reminisced that secession agitations and jihadists agenda are not problems of today under a Buhari Presidency. We all know unmistakably that the gory events of the 1966 counter coup by young Northern military officers precipitated Col. Ojukwu’s declaration of a Biafran Republic. He lost that war, but the dream has refused to extinguish in the minds Igbos in Nigeria, evident in the sprouting of MASSOB and IPOB years back before the Buhari Presidency. Nigeria has lived with it.”

    “And for ex- Governor of old Anambra state, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, recounting his narrative has been so bewildering. A man who has lived the Biafran dream in words and actions all his life, since its debut in 1967, deceptively sermonizes in the new millennium that lopsided federal appointments by President Buhari is responsible for the agitations by his kinsmen for separatism. And he feels no modicum of shame to play this in public domain.

    That’s the extent dishonesty in Nigeria is garbed with garments of religion.

    “Nigerians who mouth such profane things against President Buhari forget easily that the deadly Islamic sect Boko Haram terrorists festered uncontrollably when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian was President of Nigeria. But Buhari has crushed it. We ask rhetorically that is it not easier enough for a leader with a Jihadist agenda like they have tagged President Buhari to have allowed, sustained and nourished Boko Haram to overwhelm Nigeria?

    The group further observed Nigeria is crippled today because of its systemic plundering by the likes of some members of NCEF, notingthat, “if these loots are returned to the coffers and put into good public use, it will substantially alleviate some of these problems and vanish the agitations.