A Non-Governmental Organisation, ACT, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a probe panel to investigate the killing of three police personnel and a civilian by troops of Nigerian Army in Taraba.
The organisation made the call in a statement jointly signed by Mr Johnson Kolawole, acting Director, Research, Strategy and Communications; and Mr Tolu Babaleye, National Secretary on Friday In Abuja.
Kolawole said that the probe panel was important to unravelling the ulterior motives, if any, of the perpetrators of the killing.
He said that Nigerians deserved to know what actually happened.
Kolawole said that it would be unpatriotic to stand aloof in the current impasse between the Nigerian police force and the Nigerian army on the killing of police officers on duty.
He said that the organisation believed there was a puzzle here to solve, which might help unravel some mysteries behind the state of insecurity in the country.
“The killings of those IRT operatives in Taraba by Nigerian soldiers must not be swept under the carpet as we have seen in the past.
“The president is hereby enjoined to set up a probe panel to investigate what happened with a view to unravelling the ulterior motives (if any) of the perpetrators of the heinous and dastardly killing. ”
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Kolawole also called on the chief of army staff to get to the root of the matter or be prepared to face legal action after seven days of inaction.
“Lastly, we call on the Nigerian army to resist the temptation of shielding any erring officers in order to enjoy public confidence.
“The daily sacrifices of many gallant officers must not be rubbished with the selfishness of few.
“The bad eggs must be fished out to save the image of the force and the country at large.”
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the police authorities had on Wednesday announced the killing of its personnel from the force headquarters by the troops on Ibi-Wukari road in Taraba.
The police had alleged that the suspected kidnappers in custody of the attacked officers were released by the army troops.
Army Headquarters, in reaction, described the incident as `unfortunate and avoidable’ while explaining its own side of the story.
The army had explained that the said army troops, while responding to a distress call to rescue a kidnapped victim, exchanged fire with the suspected kidnappers on Ibi-Wukari Road in the State.
The police, in a counter reaction on Thursday, had raised a number of questions that the army authorities needed to unravel especially the whereabouts of the arrested suspected kidnapping kingpin, Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume.
