The Nigerian Army has declared as totally untrue, the allegation by former Chief of Army Staff, Theophilus Danjuma, that the military had compromised in its task of ensuring the security of the people of Taraba State.
Speaking at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo on March 24, Danjuma called on the people of the state to rise up and protect themselves.
He said they should not have faith in the Nigerian Army as they had allegedly aligned with the killers who had continuously invaded the communities of the state.
His words: “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.”
The Nigerian Army has since denied the allegation even though it said it was not ready to exchange words with Danjuma.
It however set up a committee to probe the allegation to ascertain its veracity.
Speaking on Friday on the outcome of the probe into Danjuma’s allegation, Buratai who was represented by Chief of Military/Civil Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, said findings had shown that Danjuma was incorrect in his assertion.
His words: “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.’’
He said findings also showed that there were sustained media campaigns to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state.
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No one, he said, however, was identified as the sponsors of the campaign.
One of the findings, Buratai also said, was attempts by the governor of Taraba State to remove the Commanding Officer of 9 Battalion, Lt.-Col. I.B. Gambari, because he refused to be dragged into the state politics.
He added too that the chairman of Takum Local Government Area attempted to undermine the authority of the commanding officer.
He however did not give details.
Buratai who said the main crises in the state were in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna local government blamed them on the porous Nigeria-Cameroon borders and arms proliferation in the state.
“There was a massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba, some of which have been recovered from warring parties, criminals and unauthorised persons…
“It is apparent that the clashes in Taraba are as a result of clan and communal crisis that predates this present government.
“Most of the crises in the state are politically-motivated and some persons are deliberately escalating the situation for selfish gains.
“The army is also of the view that the situation in Taraba has steadily deteriorated largely due to distrust, intolerance, lack of inclusion and accommodation of different ethnic groups in the state.’’
