Vanguard (Lagos)
Godwin Akor
26 October 2001
Abuja — PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered the army to cease all operations in Benue State where scores of Tiv villagers were killed in apparent revenge raids by soldiers on Tuesday, Governor George Akume said yesterday.
But the Army said its men would not leave trouble Tiv towns/villages of Katsina-Ala, Zaki Biam and Wase until those who killed 19 soldiers were apprehended.
The 19 soldiers, on a peace mission to border towns between Taraba and Benue states were abducted and subsequently killed by Tiv youths.
"The President has ordered the immediate cessation of all military operations in the area," Gov. Akume told reporters in Makurdi.
He said 130 lives were lost in the attack on the four Tiv villages by soldiers. Eight died in the attack on the village of former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Victor Malu, he said.
Makurdi itself, where the state government imposed a curfew Wednesday, following demonstrations over the villagers' massacre was generally calm yesterday.
About 60 people have been arrested over the protests that rocked Makurdi on Wednesday.
At the Wurukum and High Level areas of the state capital where bonfire was made by irate youths protesting the invasion were deserted while residents stayed indoors.
Most schools remained shut while offices were not able to open for business. Though some commuter buses were on the roads, most car owners parked their vehicles for fear of a repeat of the Wednesday demonstration by the youths.
Investigations revealed that about six persons lost their lives in the stampede that ensued during the demonstration. Scores of the people who took refuge at the State Police Command Headquarters, Wednesday were seen with their children and luggage heading for the motor parks within the capital city.
Meanwhile, representatives of the various media houses across the world have converged in Makurdi for the coverage of the Taraba state crisis.
Gov. Akume told reporters that President Obasanjo was "not aware of the activities of the military in the area," and said the President gave the cessation order last Wednesday.
Amnesty International, reacting to the reports called for an impartial inquiry, describing the killings of the villagers as "an act of revenge" and "a killing spree."
lSoldiers won't leave Tivland, says Ogomudia
In his first reaction to the Tuesday's killing of Tiv villagers in Benue State, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Alexander Ogomudia vowed that the Army would not leave Tiv towns/villages until those who killed the 19 soldiers were arrested.
He said even now, four other soldiers who had gone to recover the bodies of their 19 slain colleagues have not been found.
He said the reports on the alleged reprisals by his men had not been confirmed and declared that the deployment of more troops to the area "is not an invasion per se."
"The troops went there with a specific mission to disarm the militia, arrest the culprits who killed the soldiers and dismantle the illegal road blocks mounted by the militia."
Acknowledging that there might have been some killings of which he had no situation report, the Army chief said: "When the troops got there, they had to cordon off the area suspected to be harbouring the culprits and some militia. Now in a situation like that, if there is resistance, the Army has to react."
"Note that we won't be there an hour longer if the culprits are arrested, the militia surrender the large quantity of arms in their possession and there are no more road blocks. As long as there is resistance, the troops will remain there.
Continuing, he said, "it is important that we succeed because if the Army is defeated, that is the end of the country."
He dismissed comments by politicians on the issue, saying: "We must try and face the truth and separate crime from politics. It doesn't give me joy to fight Nigerians. But some things have to be done."
"Nineteen soldiers were killed. If you say okay go don't worry, I can assure you that tomorrow, a whole battalion will be wiped out and tomorrow again, they will attack the police because they have attacked the Army successfully."
He said 16 rifles of the 23 seized from the soldiers had so far been recovered and that search and rescue operation was still on to recover the dead bodies of the remaining missing soldiers, their arms and ammunition.
On allegations that soldiers lined up and killed civilians after separating the women and children from the men, and that soldiers carried out wanton destruction of property, he said: "Nothing can be farther away from the truth than this."
"To put matters straight, I wish to categorically state that the Nigerian Army soldiers will for no reason engage in any vengeance mission during internal security operation as this is against the rules of engagement and code of conduct which are very clear.
"The use of force is only permitted for self-defence, when murder is being committed, when arson is being committed and when rape is being committed.
"The aim is not to go there and kill people. That place is highly militarised. There are a lot of arms and ammunition in that area. We want to recover them and restore normalcy because a lot of innocent people are being murdered at these road blocks," he said.
Explaining how the 19 soldiers were killed, the Army chief said, "it is true that the soldiers performed creditably in serious combat theatres like in Liberia and sierra-Leone. However, it is because it was a foreign theatre of war. So they were heavily armed and prepared for any eventuality.
"But in this case, these people are our people, our blood and we swore oath to protect them. That is why the soldiers were lightly armed. What they (Benue people) would have done if they felt the soldiers were partisan was to make an official complaint.
"Instead, hundreds of heavily armed militia in 20 chartered vehicles ambushed the soldiers and this was at the border area. They took them inside the town to Zaki Biam and killed them. If the soldiers wanted to react, how many would they have killed?"
Reacting to a question on the allegations that Defence Minister, Gen.
Danjuma was using soldiers against the people of Benue, the Army chief said: "Was Danjuma the one who sent the militia to kill the soldiers? Was he the one who sent them to mount road blocks and kill innocent Nigerians?"
He explained that it was the government of Benue State that applied to the Federal Government to send troops since the police could not curtail the activities of the militia.
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