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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