by Kingseyi Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:36 pmThe military task force in Plateau State,
Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, has denied
allegation that it aided and abated recent attacks
in some villages in Plateau State, which claimed
many lives.
Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces
Sniper Unit stand in their ghillie suits at
the African Land Forces Summit (ALFS)
military demonstration held at General Ao
Azazi barracks in Gwagwalada on April 17,
2018./ AFP PHOTO /
An allegation of military connivance with killer
herdsmen and released by one Jerry Datti has
been trending on the social media platforms for
some days now.
But reacting to the video allegation, yesterday,
through its spokesman, Major Umar Adams, the
Operation Safe Haven insisted that contrary to
the claim by Mr Datti, the task force has carried
out its assignment in the state strictly in line
with global best practice.
The task force insisted that the purported video
was aimed at misleading the public on the
monumental successes recorded by the
command in returning peace to the troubled
areas of Plateau State.
The OPSH described the video allegation as the
handiwork of enemies aimed at pitching the
masses against the military task force in
particular and the Nigerian Military in general,
hence their initial “shenanigans to dampen the
moral of the masses towards the OPSH”
It noted that the video was” intended to cause
the citizenry to withdraw the support they have
been giving to the security agencies particularly
the OPSH so as to allow the enemies a free
hand to continue to kill Nigerians.”
The full statement as released by Major Umar
Adams read thus:”The attention of the special
task force, Operation Safe Haven, Jos
operational command has been drawn to the
circulation of an ill-fated video anchored by one
Mr Jerry Datti, which was scripted to mislead
the public on the monumental successes
recorded by the command in returning peace to
the troubled areas of Plateau State.
“The command ordinarily would have ignored
the video as a handiwork of the enemies of
peace and security as they engage in various
shenanigans to dampen the morale of the
masses towards the military have failed.
“It is profoundly imperative to clarify that, the
above video scripting falls below all known
standards of conventional media practice and
documentary procedures.
“The video is written, doctored specifically to
weaken the morale of masses and pitch them
against the operation safe haven.
” It is intended to cause the citizenry to
withdraw the support they have been giving to
the security agencies so as to allow the
enemies a free hand to continue to kill
Nigerians.”
Going further, the task force, in the statement
said:” It is pertinent to clarify on the avalanche
of lies in the 13- minute video the following
issues :
“That at no point did the said Jerry Datti have
phone conversation with the commander of the
Operation Safe Haven jos as claimed. We
challenge him to bring out evidence regards
timelines to buttress his baseless assertion.
“That, it is untrue the allegations that the
commander obstructed burial of victims of the
attack. The correct situation is that the
commander who was personally on the ground
only insisted that adequate identification of
corpses must be done by relatives before the
corpse can be conveyed for burial to avoid mix
up which could stem further problems. The
commander deserves to be commended on this
noble procedure rather than condemnation. The
Youth Leader at the scene who met with the
Commander OPSH, communicated this position
to its leadership before they were allowed to go
into the villages. This was against the claim by
the man that he forced his way through our
location to get to the villages.
“That it is utterly false, the total number of dead
bodies claimed to have been gathered by the
said Jerry Datti and his group in various
communities. This is just a mere antic to raise
anxiety and cause disaffection among the
masses who have been cooperative and
supportive to the security agencies. We
challenge him to provide the identities and
documentation to the effect that, if indeed, such
ever occurred.”
One Brigadier General Bello was mentioned in
the said video of allegedly giving order to the
task force Commander, Major General Anthony
Atolagbe not to respond to distress calls by the
victims of the attack but the OPSH, in the
statement, said the allegation was baseless in
its entirety.
“That Brigadier General Bello who is repeatedly
mentioned in the video is a junior officer to the
commander of Operation Safe Haven, how then
would the commander take instructions from
him? This man lacks the complete knowledge of
military hierarchy and chain of command suffice
to say he is a confused individual.
” It is a known practice all over the world as
military operates strictly on seniority. This calls
to question the integrity and motive of the video
and the characters promoting it, “the statement
added.
Mr Jerry Datti, in the video, had equally claimed
that the OPSH Commander was taking full
instructions from the Sultan of Sokoto on how
handle the crisis in the state but reacting to ,
OPSH said:” That it is also untrue the allegations
to the effect that the commander takes
instructions from the sultan of Sokoto. This is
not only petty but clearly out of human logic.
This is because the respected Sultan has never
at any time called nor given the commander any
instructions either private or operational since
he assumed duty in Jos”
Datti had alleged that he was privy to
information on all attacks in the state and
relayed same to the STF Commander but
without action taken just as he accused the
Commander of not allowing the dead families to
pick corpses of the dead for burial.
The military task force said:”The same man who
alleged that people were not allowed to bury
corpses has on another account said he was
assisted by some Hausa residents to burry the
dead bodies.. Where then is the credibility of
this documentary?
Datti equally did not spare the Plateau State
governor, Simon Lalong, as he accused him or
doing little or nothing about the crisis this goes
to show the motives behind the video which is
purely political.
Responding to this, the STF said “the resort to
name dropping as it affects the Governor of
Plateau State clearly depicts the political
undertone and agenda of Mr Jerry Datti as only
advancing the course of his political and other
sponsors who are not comfortable with feat
OPSH under Major General Anthony Atolagbe is
achieving. Otherwise, why the confrontational
approach?”
“What links does Mr Jerry Datti enjoys with the
attackers that he always get prior information as
portrayed in the video? Clearly, we can see a
thick conspiracy playing out with the emotions
of the masses, “it said.
” For, the avoidance of doubt, the Operation Safe
Haven is doing its best to forestall further
attacks and restore peace in the community and
the commander is committed to this mandate
more than any other.
“The commander will therefore, not be distracted
by the evil machinations of the enemies to serve
as a clog in the wheel of peace progress.
“The public by this statement is endeavored to
disregard the video in entirety and remain
supportive of the command for peace and
stability to be restored on the Plateau, “the
statement further said. We are focused on our
mandate which is to render service in the
protection of lives and property.
Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, has denied
allegation that it aided and abated recent attacks
in some villages in Plateau State, which claimed
many lives.
Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces
Sniper Unit stand in their ghillie suits at
the African Land Forces Summit (ALFS)
military demonstration held at General Ao
Azazi barracks in Gwagwalada on April 17,
2018./ AFP PHOTO /
An allegation of military connivance with killer
herdsmen and released by one Jerry Datti has
been trending on the social media platforms for
some days now.
But reacting to the video allegation, yesterday,
through its spokesman, Major Umar Adams, the
Operation Safe Haven insisted that contrary to
the claim by Mr Datti, the task force has carried
out its assignment in the state strictly in line
with global best practice.
The task force insisted that the purported video
was aimed at misleading the public on the
monumental successes recorded by the
command in returning peace to the troubled
areas of Plateau State.
The OPSH described the video allegation as the
handiwork of enemies aimed at pitching the
masses against the military task force in
particular and the Nigerian Military in general,
hence their initial “shenanigans to dampen the
moral of the masses towards the OPSH”
It noted that the video was” intended to cause
the citizenry to withdraw the support they have
been giving to the security agencies particularly
the OPSH so as to allow the enemies a free
hand to continue to kill Nigerians.”
The full statement as released by Major Umar
Adams read thus:”The attention of the special
task force, Operation Safe Haven, Jos
operational command has been drawn to the
circulation of an ill-fated video anchored by one
Mr Jerry Datti, which was scripted to mislead
the public on the monumental successes
recorded by the command in returning peace to
the troubled areas of Plateau State.
“The command ordinarily would have ignored
the video as a handiwork of the enemies of
peace and security as they engage in various
shenanigans to dampen the morale of the
masses towards the military have failed.
“It is profoundly imperative to clarify that, the
above video scripting falls below all known
standards of conventional media practice and
documentary procedures.
“The video is written, doctored specifically to
weaken the morale of masses and pitch them
against the operation safe haven.
” It is intended to cause the citizenry to
withdraw the support they have been giving to
the security agencies so as to allow the
enemies a free hand to continue to kill
Nigerians.”
Going further, the task force, in the statement
said:” It is pertinent to clarify on the avalanche
of lies in the 13- minute video the following
issues :
“That at no point did the said Jerry Datti have
phone conversation with the commander of the
Operation Safe Haven jos as claimed. We
challenge him to bring out evidence regards
timelines to buttress his baseless assertion.
“That, it is untrue the allegations that the
commander obstructed burial of victims of the
attack. The correct situation is that the
commander who was personally on the ground
only insisted that adequate identification of
corpses must be done by relatives before the
corpse can be conveyed for burial to avoid mix
up which could stem further problems. The
commander deserves to be commended on this
noble procedure rather than condemnation. The
Youth Leader at the scene who met with the
Commander OPSH, communicated this position
to its leadership before they were allowed to go
into the villages. This was against the claim by
the man that he forced his way through our
location to get to the villages.
“That it is utterly false, the total number of dead
bodies claimed to have been gathered by the
said Jerry Datti and his group in various
communities. This is just a mere antic to raise
anxiety and cause disaffection among the
masses who have been cooperative and
supportive to the security agencies. We
challenge him to provide the identities and
documentation to the effect that, if indeed, such
ever occurred.”
One Brigadier General Bello was mentioned in
the said video of allegedly giving order to the
task force Commander, Major General Anthony
Atolagbe not to respond to distress calls by the
victims of the attack but the OPSH, in the
statement, said the allegation was baseless in
its entirety.
“That Brigadier General Bello who is repeatedly
mentioned in the video is a junior officer to the
commander of Operation Safe Haven, how then
would the commander take instructions from
him? This man lacks the complete knowledge of
military hierarchy and chain of command suffice
to say he is a confused individual.
” It is a known practice all over the world as
military operates strictly on seniority. This calls
to question the integrity and motive of the video
and the characters promoting it, “the statement
added.
Mr Jerry Datti, in the video, had equally claimed
that the OPSH Commander was taking full
instructions from the Sultan of Sokoto on how
handle the crisis in the state but reacting to ,
OPSH said:” That it is also untrue the allegations
to the effect that the commander takes
instructions from the sultan of Sokoto. This is
not only petty but clearly out of human logic.
This is because the respected Sultan has never
at any time called nor given the commander any
instructions either private or operational since
he assumed duty in Jos”
Datti had alleged that he was privy to
information on all attacks in the state and
relayed same to the STF Commander but
without action taken just as he accused the
Commander of not allowing the dead families to
pick corpses of the dead for burial.
The military task force said:”The same man who
alleged that people were not allowed to bury
corpses has on another account said he was
assisted by some Hausa residents to burry the
dead bodies.. Where then is the credibility of
this documentary?
Datti equally did not spare the Plateau State
governor, Simon Lalong, as he accused him or
doing little or nothing about the crisis this goes
to show the motives behind the video which is
purely political.
Responding to this, the STF said “the resort to
name dropping as it affects the Governor of
Plateau State clearly depicts the political
undertone and agenda of Mr Jerry Datti as only
advancing the course of his political and other
sponsors who are not comfortable with feat
OPSH under Major General Anthony Atolagbe is
achieving. Otherwise, why the confrontational
approach?”
“What links does Mr Jerry Datti enjoys with the
attackers that he always get prior information as
portrayed in the video? Clearly, we can see a
thick conspiracy playing out with the emotions
of the masses, “it said.
” For, the avoidance of doubt, the Operation Safe
Haven is doing its best to forestall further
attacks and restore peace in the community and
the commander is committed to this mandate
more than any other.
“The commander will therefore, not be distracted
by the evil machinations of the enemies to serve
as a clog in the wheel of peace progress.
“The public by this statement is endeavored to
disregard the video in entirety and remain
supportive of the command for peace and
stability to be restored on the Plateau, “the
statement further said. We are focused on our
mandate which is to render service in the
protection of lives and property.
