Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai yesterday inaugurated a 10-man committee to probe the allegation levelled against the army by Lt. Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, a retired former chief of army staff.
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 marauding herdsmen and did not protect the people 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 admonished.
Danjuma said the unnecessary killings, which is akin to “an act of ethnic cleansing” being perpetuated against the people of Taraba, specifically, and Nigeria, at large, must stop.
The army in February deployed troops in Taraba and five other states under “Exercise Ayem Akpatuma – Cat Race,” to assist civil authority in tackling herdsmen/farmers clashes and other forms of criminality.
Inaugurating the committee, Buratai noted that the allegation by Danjuma could make Nigerians lose confidence in the army, hence the need to investigate to determine its veracity.
According to him, the deployment of soldiers in recent military operations, particularly in Taraba State, has been criticised by individuals and interests groups from different sectors of the society.