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Tag: Taraba State

  • Alleged N1.64bn fraud: Court insists ex-gov Nyame must enter defence

    Alleged N1.64bn fraud: Court insists ex-gov Nyame must enter defence

    Former Taraba State governor, Jolly Nyame suffered a defeat in his on-going trial for fraud. A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Gudu, Abuja dismissed his no-case submission and ordered him to enter his defence.

    Nyame is being tried on a 41-count charge for allegedly misappropriating N1.64bn belonging to Taraba State. On Novemeber 22, 2016, the prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) announced the closure of the prosecution’s case after calling 14 witnesses.

    Rather than call witnesses in his defence, Nyame, represented by Charles Edosomwan (SAN), elected to make a no-case submission, arguing among others, that the prosecution has failed in linking him with the commission of the offences alleged.

    He urged the court to hold that the testimony of prosecution witnesses have been so damaged and can’t be relied on and that crucial elements are missing in this case.

    Nyame asked that the court dismiss the charge and discharge and acquit him on the strength of the alleged inability of the prosecution to prove its case.

    Ruling Tuesday, Justice Bukola Banjoko dismissed Nyame’s no-case submission on the ground that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against him, requiring the defendant to be called upon to enter his defence.

    The judge said a prima facie case implies a ground for proceeding. She added that it did not require proof beyond every reasonable doubt, as is required to find a defendant guilty or not.

    She said, in determining whether a prima facie case is made, the court is required to determine whether the prosecution has made some case requiring clarification from the defendant no matter how slight.

    “In relation to this court, having had a close look at the evidence and exhibits, I hold that this case requires him to provide information and give explanation with regards to evidence presented by the prosecution, and so he is ordered to enter into his defence in the interest of justice,” Justice Banjoko said.

    She adjourned to march 8 for Nyame to open his defence.

     

  • Deputy governors challenge cleric over doomsday prophecy

    Deputy governors challenge cleric over doomsday prophecy

    Deputy  governors of Abia, Ebonyi, Kano, Sokoto and Taraba states have  rejected a prophecy that they will have issues with their principals (governors) before the end of their tenure.

    The prophecy which was credited to Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, the Spiritual head of INRI Evangelistic Spiritual Church, the deputy governors said was meant to create rancor and disaffection in the polity.

    The self-acclaimed prophet had in the prophecy said that the four deputy governors will have issues with their principals (governors) before the end of their tenure.

    An online news platform had at the weekend published the prophecy in which the cleric made certain wild assertions concerning the future of these politicians.

    But in a swift reaction, Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Kelechi Igwe has described the publication as outright falsehood designed to create rancour and disaffection in the polity.

    In a statement he issued in Abuja  on behalf of his  other colleagues, Igwe  faulted  the cleric  on his prediction and accused him of concocting prophecies that had no foundation in reality.

    “Ordinarily, we would have ignored this so called prophecy   but doing so could create the impression that we believe him or that that he should be taken seriously.  We make bold to state that this prophecy like the ones before it are fallacies meant to create tension, rancour and unnecessary friction in the polity. We vehemently reject this so called prophesy which in our own estimation is nothing but a figment of the imagination of the man who released it.

    “We all have had and still have very good working relationship with our bosses in our various states and do not see any reason for the predicted crisis.  We urge the government and the good people in our various states to ignore Primate Elijah Ayodele for he knows not what he is saying or doing.

    “Primate Ayodele could not have heard from God because he has been in the business of releasing false prophecies at every turn in the politics of Nigeria and the world.  It was he who predicted that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the 2015 presidential election; it was he who predicted that Governor Ahmed El- Rufai will not win the governorship election in Kaduna State last year and it was the same man who recently predicted victory for Hilary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate in the just concluded elections in the United States,” he said.

    Igwe  said that  with the series  of failed  prophecies  emanating from  the clergyman,  he should  be hiding his face from God and the general public, adding that he lacked   the credibility to utter  any further “gibberish”   in the name of prophecy.

  • Insecurity: COAS announces upgrade of 20 battalion in Taraba

    Insecurity: COAS announces upgrade of 20 battalion in Taraba

    The Nigerian Army 20 Battalion in Serti, Taraba State is being upgraded to a special unit for military regimentation and training, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai announced Friday.

    Buratai on a visit to the headquarters of the battalion in Gashaka Local Government Area of the state told reporters that heightened security situation along the Nigeria-Cameroon border and the imperative of entrenching professionalism in the army necessitated the upgrade.

    The Army headquarters will provide the required logistics and post more officers and soldiers to improve the status of the unit, he said.

    He described the unit and its location as unique, adding: “so we will make efforts to ensure that this status is maintained.

    “We are making it a model battalion where we have full compliments of a unit at all times that will be well drilled in regimentation.”

    He promised to “immediately address the accommodation needs of personnel in this unit and more troops will be posted to this unit.

    “Henceforth, young officers that pass out from the Defence Academy will be moved to this unit for regimentation training,” he said.

    Buratai said the Army was leveraging on the near perfect terrain in Serti, which, according to him, is conducive for training and the building of the soldiers’ regimentation.

    On his part, the Emir of Gashaka, Alhaji Mohammed Sambo, commended the effort of the military in securing the community.

    He said that the people of the community and soldiers at the 20 Battalion barracks enjoyed cordial relationship.

    Sambo assured the Army chief of more cooperation and support of the community.

  • Edo: Women Present Female Governorship Aspirant

    It was a carnival like at the Edo state All Progressives Congress Secretariat yesterday when women across party line presented Mrs. Tina Agbarha to the leadership of the party as the only female governorship aspirant in the state forthcoming September 10th election.

     

    Presenting Agbarha before Barrister Anselm Ojezua led Edo state APC executives, Dr. A. Amadesun, APC woman leader said the female forks cannot continuously be playing second fiddle in Nigeria politic hence they decided to feed an aspirant.

     

    Amadesun said that Edo state women are united in their quest to produce the first Governor in Nigeria after the party failed in Court in Taraba state.

     

    “My party leaders, as you can see here today, the Edo women are here in thousands  in solidarity to our course of producing the first female Governor.

     

    ” The people you see here today are not just APC women, we have women across political line, including form PDP because their party too couldn’t feed any female aspirant. The market women, even the men are also behind us in this struggle. She said.

     

    Addressing the mammoth crowd in front of the party Secretariat, Mrs. Tina Agbarha said Edo women has decided to speak with one voice, hence she is ready to take battle of leadership in the state.

     

    She said change begin with women and she fully ready to build on the achievements recorded by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

     

    Agbarha said she is also ready to March her men colleagues in the race words for words and money for money in ensuring she secure the party ticket.

  • Lassa fever claims 14 lives in Taraba

    Lassa fever claims 14 lives in Taraba

    Lassa fever has claimed 14 lives in Taraba from January to date, an official has said.

    Dr Aisha Sani, the Chairperson, Lassa Fever Committee in the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jalingo.

    According to her, of the 49 suspected cases of the disease reported in the hospital, 21 persons were treated and discharged.

    However, she disclosed that seven suspected Lassa fever patients on admission in the hospital had fled the facility.

    “Seven persons had absconded. We are making frantic efforts to arrest and bring them back to the hospital before they infect others with the disease.

    “We have our internal securities here, but the truth is that we need more to secure the Lassa fever unit,” Sani said.

    The doctor said laboratory test had so far confirmed four cases of the disease, while four suspected cases were referred to the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua, Edo.

    “The four patients had already developed kidney failure and you know we don’t have dialysis section here.

    “Let me use this medium to appeal to the Federal Government to provide a dialysis unit in this hospital so that we can save lives,” she said.

    Sani said the hospital was currently handling two cases of the disease, adding that the worst affected areas in the state were Jalingo, Ardo-Kola and Bali local government areas.

    NAN recalls that the FMC officially confirmed the first death of three persons of Lassa fever disease on Jan. 5.

     

  • Police confirm arrest of Boko Haram commanders

    Police confirm arrest of Boko Haram commanders

    The Taraba Police Command has confirmed the arrest of two wanted Boko Haram commanders in the state.

    One of the commanders, Ali Audu was arrested in Tella, Gassol LGA while the other Abdulmumini Abdullahi was nabbed in Bali LGA.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Shaba Alkali, made the announcement on Wednesday in Jalingo at a press conference.

    He said that the two men had been handed over to the military in Yobe.

    “We have arrested two confirmed Boko Haram commanders in Gassol and Bali local government areas of the state.

    “The command have since handed over the two kingpins, Ali Audu, alias Dungu and Abdulmumini Abdullahi from Yadi Burni in Yobe to the military base in Yobe,” he said.

    Alkali said that Audu was arrested on Feb. 22 in Tella and transferred to Yobe on the 23, while Abdullahi was arrested in Bali on March 5 and transferred to Yobe military base on March 7.

    The CP also confirmed the death of seven persons in the ongoing communal crisis in Ibi Local government area of the state.

    He vowed to deal with the perpetrators including their sponsors no matter how highly placed they might be.

    He said the command had already deployed enough men to contain the situation and restore normalcy to the area.

    Alkali appealed to the public to feel free to provide the command with timely information to enable it tackle crime in the state.

     

  • Senator raises alarm over silent killings in Taraba

    Senator raises alarm over silent killings in Taraba

    Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, at the weekend raised the alarm over silent killings going on in Taraba State.

    Bwacha who represents Taraba South Senatorial District said that the silent killings were being perpetrated by dislodged Boko Haram insurgents who moved from Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

    He noted that the alarm became necessary in order to alert the Federal Government and security agencies about the possible break down of law and order in the state.

    The insurgents, he said, were working to establish a new base in Taraba State having been dislodged from Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

    He said, “Following the successes recorded by the military in the three North Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, the insurgents are beginning to relocate and they are finding themselves, a new haven in Taraba state.

    “It is very clear, by the massive movement of strange people into the state, across all the local government areas, in fact the highlights of those areas are there.

    “We are hereby calling on security operatives to go and begin to sniff around and cross check. I am saying this because we have facts on ground.

    “What the insurgents do, because they want to establish a new base, is that they entered bushes where they see people settle, they kill them.

    “We have recorded numerous cases of killings and silent killings are still going on. We now have internally Displaced Persons in Taraba, in their large numbers because those who were displaced from their villages, relocate to the towns.

    “In fact as I speak, this year’s farming season is being threatened already because the farmers would not be in their farms to cultivate anything having been chased away by the insurgents.

    “Once the farmers go to the farmers, the Boko Haram elements go to them and kill them.

    “To worsen the situation, the insurgents move around like herdsmen but they are not the original herdsmen we know because the Fulani herdsmen don’t move about with AK-47 riffle.

    “Boko Haram elements were caught, rearing over 300 cows, it is on record and the Nigerian security agencies are aware of this.

    “The situation is becoming more complex, and difficult because they move around like herdsmen where they don’t carry the Ak-47 riffle physically, they wrapped them and put them on the cows.

    “People will think they are luggage but they are arms. National Security is being threatened and that is why we have to raise alarm.

    “The local vigilante has limitations except when government gives the group, formal backing. They don’t carry arms like the Civilian JTF in Borno State who have official backing of the state.

    “The insurgents are just moving secretly in Taraba state looking for where to settle.

    “The senate committee will soon visit Taraba state to enable them to have on the spot assessment of the presence of the IDPs in the state.

    “As far as I am concerned, President Muhammadu Buhari, has recorded tremendous success in fighting Boko Haram and I also commend him for moving round some of the African sub region to collaborate with them to have a frontal approach.

    “But the insecurity involving traditional herdsmen clashing with farmers needed to be addressed urgently.

    “That is why we have been advocating for ranches to reduce these crises. The American cattle are fatter than our own, they are well fed but they don’t move around. If you keep them in a secluded place, backed with appropriate legislation, we would be able to reduce these crises.”

  • Workers in Taraba commence 3-day warning strike

    Organised labour in Taraba on Wednesday, commenced three-day warning strike over illegal salary deductions, omissions and non-payment of primary school teachers.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Mr. Solomon Obaji, Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Alhaji Tukur Taji, Secretary, Trade Union Congress (TUC), and issued to newmen in Jalingo.

    The statement criticised the state government for being `insensitive’ to the sufferings of its workers and pensioners.

    “Government has failed to address the abnormalities, ranging from underpayment of salaries, omission of genuine workers from salary vouchers, removal of approved allowances and non payment of teachers salaries,” it stated.

    When contacted, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Anthony Danburam, said that government was holding meetings with the labour leaders with a view to resolving the matter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) checks showed that workers complied with the directive of their leaders on the issue as all the offices in the state secretariat in Jalingo were locked.

     

  • Taraba deputy governor’s mum abducted

    Taraba deputy governor’s mum abducted

    The Taraba Police Command has on Tuesday confirmed the abduction of Hajiya Hauwa-Belli Manu, the mother of the deputy governor of the state, Haruna Manu.

    Mr. Joseph kwaji (DSP), the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command said reports from the Mutum-Biyu headquarters of Gassol Local Goverment area of the state, indicated that the elderly woman was taken away by gunmen from the family home of the deputy governor at about 9 pm on Monday.

    Kwaji said the whereabouts of the woman was not yet known because the abductors were yet to communicate with anybody.

    He said the command had deployed additional detectives to the area to assist in tracking the culprits.

    Kwaji therefore called on members of the public with useful information to contact the nearest police station and present same.

    Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Tukura Bashir, also confirmed the incident and said there was no communication from the abductors as at the time of filing this report.

    He said one person was killed as the gunmen shot sporadically to pave way for their escape with the old woman.

     

  • Appeal Court ruling on Taraba guber election ongoing

    Appeal Court ruling on Taraba guber election ongoing

    Appeal Court ruling on Taraba guber election ongoing.