BY OUR REPORTERS—–A former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Theophilus Danjuma (retd), on Saturday accused the Nigerian Armed Forces of complicity in the killings in Taraba, Benue and other “riverine states” in the country.
General Danjuma disclosed this at the Taraba State University convocation in Jalingo, the state capital, that the military was not neutral and was covering those behind the attacks, which has claimed scores of lives this year alone.
He also called on Nigerians to defend themselves against killers and accused the army of “bias”, saying it has failed in its responsibility of securing the country from attacks.
“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.”
“You have nowhere else to go,” he said.
“If you depend on the armed forces to stop the killings you will all die one by one. The Nigeria armed forces are not neutral.”
The former minister said the killings in the country must stop, or else “Somalia will be a child’s play”.
Danjuma described Taraba as a “mini Nigeria” and said the peace of the state is under threat.
“Taraba is a mini Nigeria with diverse ethnic groups living together peacefully, but the peace in this state is under assault.”
He said Nigerians must unite and resist any attempt that would frustrate the unity of the country.
