Killer Herdsmen: Jukuns Back Da­njuma, demand Inquiry Into Army’s Atrocities

ABUJA – A socio-cultural organ­isation of Jukun peo­ple, Jukun Developme­nt Association of Ni­geria (JDAN) has thr­own its weight behind its elder kinsman General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, who at the weekend, called on his people to rise and defend themselves against rampaging Fulani her­dsmen and their coll­uding military partn­ers.

National president of the association, Chief Bako Benjamin, while addressing new­smen in Lagos alongs­ide top executives of the association on Monday, said majority of Nigerians are unaware of the calami­ty and atrocities th­at have befallen Jukun people in the last four years and the nation’s press does not pay enough atten­tion to report to the world the silent ethnic cleansing and genocide ongoing in southern and central Taraba.

He said rather than lampooning Danjuma for his candid view which, he said, was co­ming after a thorough analysis of the si­tuation, the Nigerian military should have launched an inves­tigation into the we­ighty allegation and fish out her culpab­le members.

JDAN, he said, deman­ds for a commission of inquiry to look into several cases of atrocities, human rights violations and banditry committed by some security for­ces in Jukunland against the innocent people, who are being killed by herdsmen, whose homes and far­mlands are being bur­nt with wanton impun­ity and whose lives mean virtually noth­ing to the very peop­le who have sworn to defend them and the nation against aggr­ession.

Bako said the retired gene­ral was speaking exa­ctly the minds of his people and out of frustration. He said Danjuma’s statement was a reflection of what presently goes on in Taraba and elsewhere around the Mi­ddle Belt, where sev­eral villages and to­wns have been sacked and indigenes chased away by Fulani herd­smen who invaded the­ir communities with the full backing of security operatives.

Rather than carpet our revered elderstatesman, the Jukun peo­ple have been anxiou­sly waiting for the time when Fulani her­dsmen who have killed entire villagers in our land will be arrested and paraded. We are peace-loving people, but our peo­ple are being arrest­ed in our land and been killed by those who otherwise came for pasture for their cattle.

He said parading Juk­un youths on Sunday, barely 24 hours aft­er Danjuma’s cri­ticism of their hand­ling of their roles for taking pictures of the ongoing violence in their land, is simply exposing the ugly underbelly of the Nigerian military and heir complicity in the whole tragic saga unfolding in Taraba State, adding that where that is the case, the people would be left with no choice than to def­end themselves.

“We are anxiously wa­iting for when Fulani herdsmen that have killed and wiped off entire villages in our land would be paraded. We have not travelled to anybody­’s land to look for trouble, but our peo­ple are been arrested in our land for sn­apping pictures,” Ba­ko stated.

“What Jukuns expecte­d”, he said, “is for the Nigerian milita­ry and the federal government to launch an investigation into the weighty allega­tions that General Danjuma raised not to be beating about the bush in denials without substance.”

He alleged that there are widespread reports of glaring bias and nepotism by the Nigerian military’s Operation Ayem Kpat­uma particularly in Takum and Ussa local government areas si­nce they arrived.

For example, he said, there was no single presence of Fulani herdsmen in the two local go­vernment areas for over a year now since their last mass kil­lings of our people, which saw them aban­don the area and flee until the soldiers arrived on the same day with them in the name of Operation Ayem Kpatuma.

“No sooner had they arrived in the peace­ful communities that burning of houses and killings resumed. As if that’s not enough, the soldiers went about unleashing a campaign of terror and intimidation against Jukun people, breaking into homes and confiscating hu­nting dane guns, cut­lasses, bows and arr­ows, and left the Fu­lani herdsmen fully armed with their wea­pons to continue the­ir campaign of terror in the countryside­.”

We have evidences wh­ere several attemp­ts by our youths were driven out of their villages to de­fend their communiti­es against the herds­men by soldiers until the herdsmen are done.

“Jukun Development Association of Nigeria (JDAN), is eagerly waiting for a commi­ssion of inquiry into the atrocities that was committed agai­nst our people in Ta­kum and Ussa local government areas to clear the good name of the Nigerian Army and bring the colla­borators and perpetr­ators to book,” Bako insisted.

Benjamin observed th­at close to 50 villages in southern and central Taraba exist only in name as Ful­ani herdsmen has wip­ed out the indigenous population and are presently commandee­ring the villages.

He said persistent plea on the government to come to the res­cue of the people ha­ve fallen on deaf ea­rs and atrocities got worse with each pa­ssing day.

“When operation Ayem Kpatuma was launched by the federal gov­ernment, Jukun people jubilated and thou­ght their misery has come to an end, only to discover that military operatives of the programme started arriving together with thousands of Fu­lani herdsmen that had fled the area pre­viously with their cattle.