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Tag: Taraba govt

  • Innocent people are being killed because we won election, Taraba govt cries out

    The Taraba State government yesterday cried out that innocent people were being killed since the day Governor Darius Ishaku was declared winner of the governorship election in the state.

    The Commissioner for Information, Simon Dogari,  who briefed reporters on the incidents trailing the outcome of the election, said the attacks were being masterminded by the opposition parties who lost at the polls.

    He said the attacks were intended to give the impression that the governorship election in the state was not credible.

    Dogari said: “There have been several cases of attacks on innocent and defenceless people in Jalingo by miscreants hired and armed by those who lost the elections.

    “Their intention is to create tension and anarchy in the state such that the impression would be created that the elections were not credible.

    “The state government is happy that this motive has not been achieved. We give the credit to God and to all the good people of Taraba State who have ignored the call to arms and have in various ways helped to defuse tension rather than yield to the temptation to react violently.

    “The elections were generally free, fair and peaceful. There were no major incidents, as voting took place in all the centres.

    Read also: APC, PDP take INEC to task

    “It is also instructive that one of the major contestants in the gubernatorial election, Senator Aisha Alhassan, also rated the election as free, fair and credible, even though she lost.

    “Yet, the main opposition group has embarked on a mission of organising armed youths to confront people who came out in their numbers to celebrate the PDP victory.

    “The most unfortunate and dangerous dimension to this campaign was the religious colour their group tried to assign to the crisis.

    “It is disheartening that a man who is aspiring to a high position of leadership of this state would resort to religious bigotry to achieve his ambition.

    “Again, we thank God and the larger section of the populace for refusing to cooperate with him to cause more tension and damage to lives and properties.”

    He said that Governor Darius Ishaku “deeply appreciates the contributions of all the good people of the state in achieving peace and wishes to thank everybody, including Christian and Muslim leaders, who have been part of the peace building process.”

    The state government said it would ensure that all law abiding people are protected in order to go about their lawful activities without molestation.

    “Governor Ishaku also wishes to remind all of you that peace is the bedrock on which every positive human endeavour can thrive, hence his peace mantra: Give me peace and I will give you development.

    “We urge you to refuse to be used as political thugs, to shun violence and all forms of drug abuse and to support the government to build that future you deserve.”

  • Danjuma’s allegation: Taraba govt, Jukuns reject Army’s report

    THE Taraba State government and the Jukun Development Association of Nigeria (JDAN) have rejected the “no guilty” verdict of the Gen. John Nimyel’s panel, which investigated Gen. T.Y. Danjuma’s allegations of criminal acts of collusion by the army in the killings of innocent people in the state.

    In a statement issued yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, the government said it was baffled on why the panel would return a verdict of not guilty to the army, when military’s “atrocious activities” were documented and known within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

    The government described the report as an extension of the army’s bias, which “it exhibited and has continued to exhibit over the crises”.

    It said with the verdict, the army has proved once again the appropriateness of the popular axiom that one cannot and should not sit in judgment in a case in which it is also the accused.

    “The army under General Tukur Buratai, lacks the courage, capacity and fair mindedness to do what is right to protect victims of the herdsmen massacres committed not only in Taraba State but also in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Zamfara and Kogi states,” the statement said.

    It said the verdict of not guilty did not surprise the people because they had watched in awe as the soldiers, who were meant to preserve lives and quell the marauding killings of the herdsmen, had looked the other way when the killings took place.

    “We in Taraba State and all other Nigerians who have followed the Army’s shocking acts of looking the other way while the massacres raged  in these parts of the country are not surprised by the verdict of ‘not guilty’, which the army panel returned in favour of the army. The case of the Army’s culpability in the killings is very widely known and acknowledged within and outside the shores of this country. It is on record that even Amnesty International had reason to condemn the Army’s lukewarm attitude to the killings in the past.

    “The Army and other security agencies did not only fail to stop the killings anywhere and everywhere its soldiers were deployed, they deliberately promoted it by looking the other way so that the killers could have unhindered access to their unarmed and helpless victims.”

    JDAN, at a news conference in Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday denounced the report and demanded the setting up of an independent judicial panel of enquiry to conduct an unbiased investigation into the allegations of military complicity in the killings.

    Its National President, Chief Bako Benjamin, had said the panel’s report, falls far short of expectations and can at best be described as a shoddy job fit for the waste bin.

    He lamented that rather than give hope of justice to the families of the innocent farmers and other villagers hacked down by the herdsmen, the Army merely engaged in “empty rhetoric” of setting up of panels to cleanse themselves of wrong doings, a practice, for which he said, they are becoming notorious for.

    According to him, the Nigerian Army yet again missed another opportunity to cleanse itself of allegations of gross abuse levelled against them by Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma and human rights organisations, including Amnesty International (AI).

    “The Nigerian Army panel did a very poor and unprofessional job and wasted the opportunity to scribble their names in gold. The report is unacceptable to Jukun people and therefore it is hereby rejected in its entirety,” he said.

    He wondered why the principal characters (Fulani herdsmen) accused of precipitating the crisis that gave birth to Gen. Danjuma’s allegations were never mentioned in the report.

    The panel, he stated, almost completely avoided the main subject of the matter, which were the attacks and killing of farmers and innocent villagers, but was addressing porous borders and past misunderstandings between brothers in a deliberate attempt to stir up tempers and portray Jukuns as historically troublesome.

    “It is also curious that the panel deliberately refused to use a single material out of the hundreds of documented paper works, audio and video recordings of witnesses, community leaders and youth groups with shocking and gruesome evidences of ethnic cleansing and genocide in more than 20 villages across southern Taraba,” he said.

     

  • Taraba’s herdsmen attack death toll hits 32

    The death toll in Wednesday’s attack by Fulani herdsmen in Taraba State has risen to 32, the locals said on Friday.

    The marauding herdsmen have resumed their attack on innocent citizens despite the presence of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and a military panel probing allegations by former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), that “the armed forces collude with armed bandits to kill Nigerians.”

    The herdsmen attacked Jandeikyula village in Wukari local government area at 6:00p.m. on Wednesday.

    At least 25 bodies were counted the following morning despite the intervention by soldiers who battled with the killers for several hours.

    A former Special Adviser to late Governor Danbaba Suntai, Orbee Uchiv, an indigene of Jandeikyula told The Nation that seven bodies were recovered on Friday.

    Our correspondent gathered that some of the dead victims have been buried in shallow graves.

    Uchiv said some residents had crawled into the bush during the attack.

    “But they died of injuries resulting from gun shots,” he added.

     

     

  • We didn’t suspend anti- grazing law – Taraba govt

    We didn’t suspend anti- grazing law – Taraba govt

    The Taraba State government on Thursday refuted reports that it suspended the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.

    The state Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General, Yusufu Akirikwen, who spoke at Face the Press, an interactive forum with journalists, said any law, once enacted, cannot be suspended.

    He said: “The word suspension of law does not exist. A law or act of parliament can only be amended or repealed.”

    He said following the intervention of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi-led committee, it was agreed that Sections 23, 24 and 25 of the law should be revisited because of complaints by members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association.

    “Because of incessant bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers, the state government decided to put in place the anti-open grazing law to restrict the movement of herdsmen and cattle.

    “We decided that the animals be restricted in ranches to avoid trespasses, clashes and disputes.

    “And our anti-open grazing law passed through all the due procedures and stages of enactment. It was put to public hearing in the three geo-political zones of the state.

    “The Governor, Darius Ishaku, gave a transition period of six months before the law was finally enforced on January 24,” the commisioner added.

     

     

  • Mambilla crisis: Women Affairs Minister goofed, says Taraba govt

    Mambilla crisis: Women Affairs Minister goofed, says Taraba govt

    The Taraba State government has criticised the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, for allegedly blaming it for the crisis on Mambilla Plateau.

    The government said it had done more than previous administrations to promote peace on the plateau.

    It noted that the minister’s reaction to last week’s ethnic violence, in which many people died, was devoid of sympathy for the victims.

    Mambilla, in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, is home to the Mambilla, Fulani, Kaka, Kambu and Panso ethnic groups, among others.

    In a statement yesterday by Bala Dan Abu, the Special Media Aid to Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, the government described Alhassan’s “attempt to blame it” for the crisis as “malicious, wicked and ungodly”.

    It added: “She has no soothing words for victims of the crises in the state, but she is always in a hurry to condemn the genuine and patriotic efforts of government to end the crises and provide care for victims.”

    The government accused the minister of showing more interest in her political ambition than the plight of victims of the crises.

    It said: “The promotion of peace is a cardinal programme of the present administration in Taraba State. The Ishaku administration, more than any other government in the past, has done more to guarantee peace in the state.

    “Government’s mechanism for handling a crisis has been very effective. Security men are always promptly deployed and this helped greatly in curtailing the scope of losses in life and property.

    “It is also on record that several cases of herdsmen/farmers’ clashes were averted in the past through the preventive security measures put in place by the government. Security men who promptly quelled the recent crisis in Sardauna Local Government Area were deployed there at the request of Governor lshaku.

    “Hajiya Aisha Alhassan also accused the governor of not talking to the people on the crisis. That again is untrue. For her information, the better approach in crisis management is to act decisively rather than talk prematurely.

    “Governor Ishaku acted first and very decisively to end the crisis before talking. What he said was widely carried in the local and national media. Hajiya Alhassan certainly did not pay attention because she was, as usual, not interested but obsessed by her political ambition.”

    The statement recalled that last Saturday, Ishaku held a consultative meeting in Jalingo, the state capital, with representatives of communities in Mambilla and “far-reaching decisions” were made on the best ways to achieve permanent peace in the area.

    It added: “The decisions included the setting of up of two committees – a 14-member committee of Elders from Mambilla and a Truth and Reconciliation Committee – in addition to a Judicial Commission of Enquiry earlier announced and which is headed by Justice Nuhu Adi. The commission has three weeks to submit its report to government.

    “The government wishes to advise the people of the state to dismiss the utterances of Hajiya Alhassan.

    “Government is in total control of the situation in Mambilla and steps already taken by government will comprehensively and permanently resolve the issues involved.”

     

  • Minister’s statement on Mambilla crisis reckless – Taraba

    Minister’s statement on Mambilla crisis reckless – Taraba

    The Taraba State government has criticized the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, for allegedly blaming it for the crisis in Mambilla Plateau.

    The government said it has done more than previous administrations to promote peace in the area, adding that the minister’s reaction to last week’s ethnic violence which claimed several lives, was reckless and without sympathy for the victims.

    Mambilla, in Sardauna local government area of Taraba, is home to the Mambilla, Fulani, Kaka, Kambu and Panso ethnic groups, among others.

    In a statement signed on Tuesday by the media aide to the state governor, Bala Dan Abu, the government described Alhassan’s attempt to blame it for the crisis as “malicious, wicked and ungodly.”

    “She has no soothing words for victims of the crises in the state but she is ever always in a hurry to condemn the genuine and patriotic efforts of government to end the crises and provide care for victims,” the statement said.

    The government accused the minister of being more interested in her political ambition than the plight of victims of the crises.

    The statement added: “The promotion of peace is a cardinal programme of the present administration in Taraba State. The Darius Ishaku administration, more than any other governments in the past, has done more to guarantee peace in the state.

    “Government’s mechanism for handling crisis has been very effective. Security men are always promptly deployed and this helped greatly in curtailing the losses of life and property.

    “It is also on record that several cases of herdsmen/farmers clashes were averted in the past through the preventive security measures put in place by the government. Security men who promptly quelled the recent crisis in Sardauna local government area were deployed there at the request of Governor lshaku.

    “Hajiya Aisha Alhassan also accused the governor of not talking to the people on the crisis. That again is untrue. For her information, the better approach in crisis management is to act decisively rather than talk prematurely.

    “Governor lshaku acted first and very decisively to end the crisis before talking. What he said was widely carried in the local and national media. Hajiya Alhassan certainly did not pay attention because she was, as usual, not interested but rather obsessed by her political ambition.”

     

  • Taraba govt agrees to pay FC Taraba players

    Taraba govt agrees to pay FC Taraba players

    The Taraba State government has tabled an undertaking to the League Management Company (LMC) to pay players of FC Taraba salaries running to over 11 months.

    The LMC has warned Taraba will be docked six points if the government failed to pay the players.

    “We have an undertaking from the state government, who are the real owners of the club, that they will pay their players what is owed them. What is most crucial is that the players receive what they worked for and we are on track to making this possible,” said LMC chairman  Shehu Dikko.

    Taraba are second from bottom of the league table with 30 points from 31 matches, six points from safety with six rounds of matches to be played till the end of the season.

    Most of the clubs in the Nigeria top-flight league have defaulted in the payment of salaries and other allowances because they are financed by state governments, who have fallen on hard times and so could not even pay the salaries of their civil servants, needing a bailout from the Federal Government to do so.