Olaleye Aluko and Justin Tyopuusu Jalingo
The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, said on Monday that troops had not been deployed in Benue and other states as was recommended by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo committee on herdsmen crisis.
The Defence Director of Information, Brig-Gen John Agim, said the police were on the ground in the states, adding that the military were the “last line of defence.”
The PUNCH had reported on Monday that the Osinbajo committee, which was set up by the National Economic Council to find lasting solutions to the killings by herdsmen across the country, recommended increased military presence in Benue and other states affected by the attacks.
But Agim said the decision had not been communicated to the military.
He said, “The report just came out. They (the troops) have not moved in. You will recall that the Federal Government asked the Inspector-General of Police to move into Benue State. I have seen the report that the military are going to be given more roles; but that was just yesterday.
“There is a laid down rule and regulation. The military are the last line of defence. We cannot become the police. It is only when the police go in and they find it difficult that we move in. In a normal situation, the state governor will ask the President, who will take the request to the National Assembly before military is deployed.”
Taraba, Miyetti, Tiv group hail recommendation
The Taraba State Government on Monday hailed the recommendation of the Osinbajo panel.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan-Abu, described the decision as a welcome development.
He said, “Governor Darius Ishaku had before now requested the deployment of troops to Taraba.
“For us, the deployment of more military men is a welcome development. Our advice is that the troops should be professional.”
Also, the Taraba State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria welcomed the deployment of troops, saying every tribe must be treated equally.
The Chairman of the chapter, Alhaji Sahabi Tukur, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, said, “We enjoin the troops not to allow themselves to be used by governors.
“The Federal Government should find a lasting solution to the killings and not allow state governors to bring their own solutions,” he said.
In his reaction, the President General of Tiv Cultural and Social Association in Taraba State, Chief Goodman Dahida, said the success of the troops deployed in the Sambisa forest and in Zamfara against cattle rustlers should be replicated in the areas where herdsmen had been killing innocent people.
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