The Taraba Tiv Youth Development Forum has strongly condemned the alleged harassment of their kinsmen by soldiers in Ikyaior village of Wukari Local Government Area in Taraba State.
The condemnation comes after media reports surfaced of the brutalization of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Bernard Richard, his house help, Terhemen Cornelius, and others by men in military fatigue.
The 6 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Jalingo, which oversees the area, has denied involvement in the incident. However, the TTYDF has described the incident as a gross disregard for the fundamental human rights of their kinsmen.
In a statement released on Friday by the president and secretary of the forum, Torkuma Moses and Uko Wuaga, respectively, the group expressed their outrage and sympathy for the victims.
The statement reads in part: “We wonder why military men whose core duty is to protect citizens’ lives and property would rather choose to engage in unlawful and unprofessional operations.
“While we truly sympathize with Terhemen Cornelius, whose left eye was damaged in the course of the unlawful and unprofessional operation… we wish to call on the Government of Taraba State, Defence Headquarters, and the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, investigate thoroughly and punish those military men who carried out that unlawful operation on the innocent peaceful residents of Ikyaior village.”
