The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, on Friday, said the army panel set up to investigate the violence and killings in Taraba State found out that the Nigeria-Cameroon common borders in the state were porous.
Buratai, at a briefing in Abuja, said the army also discovered that there was a “massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba State, some of which had been recovered from warring parties, criminals and unauthorised persons.”
The army chief read the findings of the army panel which also looked at the allegations of collusion between the troops and some criminals raised by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Theophilus Danjuma (retd).
Buratai said the panel saw that there was absence of army deployments in some crises-prone areas in the hinterlands in Taraba State.
He said, “The panel was inaugurated on April 9 and it visited government officials, security agencies and other stakeholders covering the three Senatorial zones of Taraba State, including the Governor of Taraba State.
“The major findings of the investigation panel include; one, most of the crises over the years in Taraba State were particularly in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna Local Government Areas.
He added, “There was absence of Nigerian Army deployments in some crises-prone areas in the hinterland in Taraba State. The Nigeria-Cameroon common borders in the state were porous.
“Also, there was a massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba State, some of which have been recovered from warring parties, criminal and unauthorised persons. There was inadequate communication equipment in the units which impedes the army operations.
“Some of the localities in the hinterland in Taraba State were not accessible by road.”
The army chief said Danjuma, who made the allegations of collusion, could not be accessed by the panel for comments. (Punch )
