Governor of Taraba State, Darius
Ishaku on Tuesday said the Buhari government and the military were aware of
security threats as well as soldiers’ misconduct in the state, but chose to do
nothing about them.
This was contained in a statement
by Bala Dan Abu, his Senior Special Assistant on media.
The state cited few instances that
the Federal Government and the military were informed about security breach and
soldiers’ misconduct, which were allegedly ignored.
It said: “The case against the
military in Taraba is that of outright collusion against the people which has
made it easy for the Fulani militia to kill and destroy property. It is also a
case of disrespect for the Office of the Governor of Taraba State.”
The statement said in February
2016, the Ministry of Interior influenced the visit of military investigators
to investigate an allegation against a monarch in the state, Dr. Shekarau
Masa-Ibi.
Abu said the military delegation
“had no courtesy to inform the state governor” on the visit and purpose of the
visit, adding: “The Taraba State Government protested this obvious act of
disrespect… in a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, dated February 23, 2016.”
He said Ishaku also wrote
President Muhammadu Buhari on January 26, 2016 to complain about threat to
peace and security in Taraba State.
“In that letter signed by Governor
Ishaku himself, he lamented the devastating effects of internal conflicts
involving the Fulani and Tiv, which led to the sacking of 200 settlements in
the Gassol, Bali, Ibi, Donga and Gashaka local government areas by herdsmen.
“The governor informed the
presidency about the concerns raised by some traditional rulers in the state
concerning the influx of Fulani militia and about the attacks on their
communities.
“Letters of complaints from the
traditional rulers whose communities suffered from these attacks were also
attached and forwarded to the presidency.
“Copies of this letter were sent
to the National Security Adviser, Chief of Staff to the President and the
Inspector-General of Police,” he said.
According to Abu, Ishaku wrote
another letter to the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on July
5, 2017, drawing his attention to “the precarious security situation as
contained in a letter written by contractors handling the Kashimbilla Dam
project and called for high level intervention.
“He called on the army, the Navy
and Air Force to establish permanent security bases in the area. This was again
ignored.”
The Taraba State Government said
it reported the misconduct of the Commanding Officer of 93 Battallion, Ada Barracks
in Takum on several occasions, but no action was taken against him by the
military.
The statement added: “For
example, the Fulani militia attacked communities in Takum and Ussa on May 6,
2017. The crisis led to the abandonment of 224 cattle belonging to the Fulani
herdsmen.
“The Taraba State Government took
possession of these cows and handed them over to the Commanding Officer for
safe keeping until the owners return to collect. This was meant to be a ploy to
get the perpetrators of the crisis arrested. Sadly, the Commanding Officer
released the cows without arresting anybody.
“There was another case when the
commanding officer marched soldiers to attack and brutalise communities in
Kashimbilla. Property of the people was damaged while many were injured.
“The letter said the Commanding
Officer was partial and discriminatory in the discharge of his duties and
requested that he should be transferred. The advice was ignored.”
Abu said Ishaku had always raised
the alarm on security situations in the state, but was always ignored.
He said, “On January 30, this
year, The governor wrote another letter to the Vice President to again complain
about the attitude of the Commanding Officer of 93 Battalion, Takum, Lt. Col.
Ibrahim Gambari, whose soldiers always looked the other way when the herdsmen
militia come to kill.
“The governor said the security
situation in the country and in Taraba State demanded that every security
officer cooperate and take directives from the chief security officer of the
state which is the governor, but lamented that this has not been the case with
the commanding officer.
“The letter listed instances of
security challenges in which the military failed to live up to expectations.
“The letter also alerted the
military authorities to a planned massive movement of Fulani and their cows
into Takum LGA, adding that motive was to provoke the people and precipitate
crisis. The military in-charge of security in the area did nothing.
“The widely publicised report on
social media and which was investigated and confirmed to the effect that a
chopper dropped arms in a village near Wukari was downplayed by the security
agencies.
“Despite efforts by the Taraba
State Government to get the military to act, they never did. Since then, the
arms and ammunition brought into the state have been used against the people in
various communities in the state by the herdsmen.
“The present Operation Ayem
Akpatuma in the state has also been discriminatory. While cutlasses and knives
have been taken away from the people, the herdsmen have been left with AK-47
rifles.
“Through these various acts of
deliberate mischief on the part of the military, thousands of people have been
killed and a lot more may be killed unless the military turns a new leaf.”
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