Tilde killings: Northern Elders, Academics call for probe.
A group of Professors and other elder statesmen has called for a probe of alleged killing of 11 youths in Tilde Fulbe by the military.
A statement signed by over 10 Professors and other elders, said, “in the exercise of our constitutional rights and in good conscience as concerned and dutiful Nigerian citizens, hereby add our collective voice to an appeal made for intervention and investigation into the murder of eleven (11) Fulani youths by soldiers in Tilde Fulbe at Ladugga Grazing Reserve, Kachia Local Government.
“The appeal was made by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor of Kaduna State and the Northern Governors Forum.
“Our support for the appeal is based on the conviction that in the context of the current devastating insecurity and economic hardships, failure to investigate such grave allegations of wilful murder of innocent citizens by agents of the state will only further deepen the distrust for state institutions, sever the bond between government and people and jeopardize the security-community relations, ” they said.
According to them, the appeal was informed by the disturbing details of what appears to be deliberate and unprovoked actions by some elements of the Nigerian military in the arbitrary killings of citizens from the affected rural communities as revealed by the findings of the preliminary investigations carried out by the Kaduna State chapter of MACBAN, which provides disturbing details of how the extra-judicial killings and looting of households by soldiers were carried out in the Tilde Fulbe community in Ladugga. Some of the findings were based on newspaper reports.
“Furthermore, the murder of the eleven Fulani youths came in spite of the caution and calls for restraints by eminent Nigerians after the Tudun Biri tragedy.
“The two unfortunate incidents cited above, which were separated by a short interval of time, continue to draw a groundswell of public anger as well as cast aspersions on the image of the Nigerian military, exposing it as a biased institution of questionable integrity. Consequently, many eminent Nigerians… called on the Federal Government to take appropriate measures to remedy the situation in order to prevent future occurrence. The renowned Tijanniya scholar , Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, for example… called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the tragic event was investigated and those found responsible prosecuted.
“Similarly, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who is himself a retired military officer, was reported by Daily Trust to have condemned the killings, describing them as a deliberate act and not a mistake as claimed by the military authorities. “Other prominent Nigerians who condemned the dastardly act and called for thorough investigation included the Secretary General of Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI), the National Chairman, Council of Ulamas, Jama’atu Izalatul Bidi’a wa’iqamatus Sunnah, the National Publicity Secretary Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), former Vice President and presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi and Emirs Muhammad Sanusi II and Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamali….
“Such was the extreme callousness of the soldiers that they used the phone of one of the victims to call his family and demanded for the sum of three hundred thousand Naira (N300,000.00) ostensibly for his release, which however never materialized. The account details given by the soldier are as follows:
Account Name: Halidu Altine
Name of Bank: First Bank PLC
Account Number: 3124149608.
“In the light of the gravity of the above, we are of the firm belief that it is the responsibility of the Nigerian state to protect and guarantee security to all its citizens as clearly spelt out in Sec 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution.”
It is, therefore, paradoxical that in this very particular situation, it is some elements of the military institution that are accused of these grave infractions. It is imperative to remind ourselves, in case we have forgotten, that the current insecurity bedevilling the nation is partly the result of similar acts of impunity in the past by the law enforcement agencies in particular and the governments in general, as evidenced by the genesis of the Boko Haram insurgency and the persisting menace of bandits and kidnappers that beset our dear nation, the release concluded.
