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Killings: Stan-Labo, Ikpebe Call For Investigation Into TY Danjuma’s Claims

  Advertisement A Retired Army Colonel, Hassan Stan-Labo and a Legal Practitioner, Emmanuel Ikpebe, have called for an investigation into the claims made by a … Continue reading Killings: Stan-Labo, Ikpebe Call For Investigation Into TY Danjuma’s Claims


 

A Retired Army Colonel, Hassan Stan-Labo and a Legal Practitioner, Emmanuel Ikpebe, have called for an investigation into the claims made by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Theophilus Danjuma (Retd).

This comes days after Gen. Danjuma on March 24, 2018, accused the Nigerian Armed Forces of complicity in the killings in Taraba, Benue and other “riverine states” in the country.

Following these claims, Col. Stan-Labo (Retd) and Mr Ikpeba are asking for a thorough investigation into these allegations by setting up a panel either by the military or an independent body to investigate the matter.

According to both men, Gen. Danjuma is a voice that should not be ignored.

He (Gen Danjuma), who addressed hundreds at the Taraba State University convocation in Jalingo, the state capital, last Saturday said, that the military was not neutral and was covering those behind the attacks, which has claimed scores of lives this year alone.

According to him, the killings can disrupt the peace not just in the state but in the country.

“The peace in this state is under assault. There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in this state and, of course, in all the riverine state of Nigeria. We must resist it. We must stop it. Every one of us must rise up.

“The armed forces are not neutral; they collude with the armed bandits that kill people, kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movement. They cover them. If you are depending on the Armed Forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one.”

But this did not go down well with the military as they immediately reacted to the claims made by the General.

The Army through its Spokesman Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, on Sunday said, the Nigerian Army has been living up to its constitutional responsibility of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

In this regard, Exercise Cat Race in an operation that engages troops to curb the menace of the herdsmen-farmers conflict and other criminal activities in the North Central Region amongst others.

“It is noteworthy to state that at the inception of Ex Ayem Akpatuma, the Taraba State Government did not cooperate with the Nigerian Army due to the Army’s stance to remain absolutely neutral in the herdsmen-farmers crisis,” he said on Sunday.

He added, “It is on record that the successes so far achieved in Ex Ayem Akpatuma in the North Central Region amongst others have been recognised and accepted by Nigerians.”

The defence spokesperson stated further that the military would not want to join issues with the elder statesman but to set the record straight.

He, however, regretted that while living up to its task of safeguarding the nation, some of its officers paid the supreme price in the battle against criminality.