Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has said the people of Taraba  are in support of the recent statement by a former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma which accused government troops of colluding with armed bandits and called on citizens to defend themselves.

The Governor made the claim on Thursday when he played host to the investigative panel set up by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai to look into the allegations made against some members of the Nigerian Armed Forces by the elder statesman.

Ishaku said: “We in Taraba are fully behind what Danjuma said on self defence. As an ex-army general with a high reputation,that call deserves to be looked into and not be criticized because he spoke the minds of everyone in Taraba and indeed all Nigerians.”

While describing the coming of the panel as timely, he assured them of a conducive working environment to succeed in their assignment, explaining that the incessant attacks by the herdsmen led to the promulgation of the open grazing prohibition law after wide consultations with stakeholders.

The governor further expressed dismay over the activities of soldiers in Taraba whom he said were going about maltreating citizens and dispossessing them of petty arms while ignoring those with lethal weapons.

Earlier, Chairman of the Army Probe Committee, John Nimyel, a retired major-general sympathized with the governor and the people of the state over the loss of valuable lives and property.

He informed the governor that they were in the state to ascertain the facts of the comments made by T.Y. Danjuma  to enable them come up with measures which would help the Army to serve the country better.

According to Nimyel, members of the committee were selected based on their past track records of excellence and pledged the determination and commitment of the panel to be unbiased, free and transparent in their assignment.

He said he and his team would visit all the three senatorial districts of the state and interface with traditional rulers, stakeholders and government representatives so as to come up with a decision on the allegations raised by the general.