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Tag: Taraba

  • Three suspected kidnappers killed in Taraba

    The police in Taraba State have killed three suspected kidnappers in Bali and Takum Local Government Areas, it was learnt yesterday.

    Commissioner of Police David Akinremi said officers stormed the kidnappers’ hideout on Wednesday.

    He said: “The gang had terrorised Bali and Takum councils and keep their victims in a camp at Garuwa.

    “But in this encounter, they fell to the superior fire power of our operatives in a shootout. Three members of the gang died and others escaped with injuries.

    “One AK-47 rifle with 10 rounds of ammunition, a single barrel rifle with five live cartridges and some charms were recovered from the bandits.”

    Akinremi urged the public to report any persons with bullet wounds to the police station.

  • Three suspected kidnappers killed in Taraba

    The Taraba State Police Command yesterday said it had killed three suspected kidnappers who had been terrorising residents of Bali and Takum local government areas.

    In a statement in Jalingo, the state capital, Police Commissioner David Akinremi said officers of the command attached to Bali Division stormed the hideout of a gang of kidnappers on Wednesday and shot three of them dead.

    He said: “The criminal gang has terrorised and kidnapped a number of persons around Bali and Takum local government areas, using a camp in Garuwa village in Bali to keep their victims.

    “In this encounter, they fell to the superior fire power of our operatives in a shootout. Three members of the gang died in the shootout while others escaped with gunshot injuries.

    “One AK-47 rifle with 10 rounds of ammunition, one single-barrelled rifle with five live cartridges and some charms were recovered from the bandits.”

    The commissioner added that clothings, suspected to belong to some of their victims, were also recovered.

    Akinremi urged the public to report persons with bullet injuries to the nearest police station for possible arrest and prosecution.

    He expressed appreciation to the residents for their continued support for the crime fighting efforts of the police.

     

  • Ishaku to Igbos living in Taraba: Fear not

    Igbos living in Taraba State have no reason to fear, the Governor of Taraba State, Darius Dickson Ishaku, said Monday.
    Ishaku spoke in a statement while expressing the State Government’s regrets over the recent communal clashes in Kwararafa (Dananacha) area of Gassol Local Government which resulted in loss of lives and properties.
    An escalation of violence in the area led to the burning of shops belonging to Igbos.
    The governor sympathised with the Igbo community and other people in the area.
    The statement, signed by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, added that “the state government took proactive steps, including the timely deployment of security personnel to the scenes of the clashes.
    “This helped in minimizing the extent of the collateral damage that would have resulted from the fighting.
    “But the claim by members of the Igbo community that only shops belonging to them were targeted and attacked is untrue. Statistics available to government do not support that position. In fact, more of the vandalized shops actually belong to non-Igbo people.
    “It is also untrue and grossly unfair for them to also accuse the state government of not doing enough to protect them and their properties during the clashes as they did recently in a petition to Ohaneze, the umbrella Igbo apex organization.
    “The government did everything within its powers on that particular occasion to prevent the crisis from escalating, despite the fact that the fighting started in the night.
    “The Government wishes to assure the Igbo, other non-indigenous ethnic groups and the entire people of Taraba State that they have no reason to fear as it will continue to do everything within its powers, and without discrimination, to ensure the safety of their lives and properties.
    “The government also wishes to remind all people resident in the state that the state is passing through a period of unfortunate security challenges resulting from incidents of herdsmen attacks and killings in some parts of the state and kidnapping.
    “This will require the support and cooperation of all people in the state to tackle.”
    The governor implored all residents in the state to be on the alert and to watch out for “strange elements” who may be on a mission to foment trouble and cause a breakdown of law and order.

  • Senate oppose call for abrogation of anti-open grazing law

    …Wants minister to withdraw commend on state laws

     

    The Senate Wednesday asked the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, to immediately withdraw his statement seeking the annulment of Anti-Open Grazing Law enacted by some states.

    This is coming less than twenty four hours after the Federal Government restated its position that the enactment of Anti-Open Grazing Law in Benue and Taraba State was the main reason fueling unabating killings in the states.

    The upper chamber adopted a resolution asking Dan-Ali to withdraw what it described as inaccurate assessment of the cause of killings in parts of the country without delay.

    The lawmakers insisted that State Houses Assembly like the National Assembly have the right to make laws for the good governance of states especially under the Land Use Act of 1977 as it has to do with land matters.

    Dan-Ali, had in a statement signed by Colonel Tukur Gusau at the end of a lengthy security meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said that there was “the need to employ other channels with the affected states to reduce tension by suspending the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law while also negotiating safe routes for the herders.”

    The minister’s statement was said to be part of the resolutions reached at the Security Council meeting, which had all the security chiefs in attendance.

    The Anti-Open Grazing Law passed in Benue, Taraba and Ekiti States.

    Abia State is said to have also adopted the same law.

    The resolution to demand the withdrawal of the minister’s statement for the abrogation of the law followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) on the need for Dan-Ali to be made to withdraw the statement.

    Read Also:Defence Minister, two others to carry out assessment of Boko Haram attack

    Gemade posited that the enactment of the law by some states did not in any way contravene the constitution of the country.

    He noted that the position that the enactment of the law by Benue and Taraba was the cause of killing in part of the country does not hold water.

    Gemade noted for instance that massive killings have been going on in Zamfara State that did not enact the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

    He said that the implication of Dan-Ali’s statement was that the federal government has not been able to find out the cause of killings in the country.

    Senator John Owan Enoh supported Gemade’s position.

    The Cross River Central lawmaker noted that killings had been going on for years before some states enacted the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

    Enoh said: “If killings have been going on for over seven years, I don’t think going against anti-grazing laws will be the solution. It is unfortunate that after a security meeting, the only solution they could come up with was a ban on anti-open grazing.

    “Sometimes, we begin to wonder if these herdsmen are being protected. The Senate needs to rise up and make a statement that the anti-grazing law is against not responsible for the killings. It also means that these people in authority still don’t have any solutions to these mindless killings.”

    Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, (Taraba South) added that Zamfara State, where the Minister of Defence hails from, did not have any anti-open grazing law.

    Bwacha said that it is on record that Zamfara state has the highest number of killings carried out by herdsmen.

    He said, “The Minister of Defence is from Zamfara State. There is no anti-grazing law there. But there are more killings there than you have in Benue and Taraba. Even in my state of Taraba, five people were killed by herdsmen. I don’t know if these people are killed by Libyan trained terrorists.”

  • 10 bandits killed in Taraba

    The Joint Military and Police Patrol Team killed 10 suspected bandits and arrested one at Katibu village in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State, it was learnt yesterday.

    The bandits were planning to attack people who were keeping vigil at a funeral, it was learnt.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Operations, Faleye Olaleye, addressed a news conference yesterday.

    He said the suspects came on motorcycles, and were killed in a gun battle.

    “On May 10, we received intelligence that some bandits were seen at Mega village in Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Mega is the border of Adamawa and Taraba.

    “The bandits are members of a Fulani militia who terrorise and kill people in Taraba and Adamawa States.

    “Police and military personnel were deployed to prevent an attack on communities in the area. And while the bandits were returning after attacking Mega, they ran into our military and police patrol team at Katibu, where they were repelled and 10 of them were killed on the spot.”

    Olaleye said items recovered from them were two AK-47 rifles, G3 rifle, SMG, three dane guns, four motorcycles and charms.

    He identified the suspect arrested as Michael Gwani and appealed to the public to report anyone with gunshot wounds to the police.

    Gwani said he was arrested with a dane gun but denied having a hand in the Mega attacks.

    “The truth is I went to condole with the family of a friend who was killed in the area, but I was with a gun because I lead a team of hunters,” he said.

     

  • Nine killed in Taraba attack, say police

    The Police Command in Taraba on Wednesday confirmed the death of nine persons in early morning attacks on Tutuwa community in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP David Misal, told newsmen that a yet-to-be identified armed militia must have carried out the deadly attack.

    Misal said that Alhaji Aliyu Tafida, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of the command, and heads of other security agencies in the state had already moved in to assess the situation.

    Mr Rimansikwe Karma, the Chairman of Ussa Local Government Council, while also confirming the attack to newsmen, added that three people were injured.

    Karma said that the attackers rounded up the village at about 5 a.m. and launched the attack when members of the community were going for early morning prayers.

    “Every Wednesday morning, the community conducts mid-week service and most of them were on their way, when the armed militia attacked them.

    “Nine persons were killed and three others sustained life threatening injuries and are currently receiving treatment at Takum General Hospital.

    “The unfortunate thing is that the attackers left before the arrival of security personnel,” he said.

  • Taraba crisis: NGO urges joint effort to enthrone peace

    The GilbertNyanganji Foundation, a Non Governmental Organisation ( NGO ), has called on people of Taraba to support efforts by both the state and Federal Governments aimed at restoring peace to the state.

    Founder of the organisation, Mr Gilbert Nyanganji made the call at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to him, there is nothing heroic, wise or worthy of praise about mass conflict and violence.

    Nyangaji, however, applauded the efforts of Gov. Darius Ishaku for steering the affairs of the various State and Federal Government commissions to ensure peace in Taraba.

    He also commended the governor’s dedication to finding lasting solutions to the crisis in the state.

    Nyangaji noted that different areas in the state had witnessed several ethnic clashes, dating back to the 70s between farmers and herders across the state.

    He added that each round of such violence had led to the next with no successful resolution of the crisis.

    Nyangaji noted that in June 2017, a similar ethnic clash erupted on the Mambilla which affected 13 communities including: Kwarakwara, Mayo, Ndaga, Nguroje, Dorofi, Tamyo, Hainare, and Chabbal Peluwaje among others.

    “Another clash erupted in March this year, affecting the Nyiwa, Maisamari, Yalwa, Karim-Lamido, Gassol, Takum, Wukari and Lau communities.

    “This circle of violence is now a reality for the people of Taraba and should not be the norm in the state,´´ he said.

    Nyanganji added that the issues that caused the seeming unending violence in the state, does not defy negotiation and reconciliation, adding that if violence was the solution, those issues would have been long resolved.

    He, therefore, said that there was a strong need for a better course of action, especially as violence in the state had escalated presently.

    Read Also: ‘New Taraba’ endorses Umar for 2019 governorship

    “It is time to chart the course of engagement and dialogue, these killings will continue if we do not sit down to talk, and to think.

    “They will solve nothing and we will only aggravate the animosity among us, especially among our youths and children.

    “Experience has taught us across the world to understand that non violent conflict resolution informed by mutual compassion is the far better option, ´´ he said.

    Nyanganji said this necessitated GilbertNyanganji Foundation to launch the `THINK’ campaign for peace and dialogue in Taraba.

    According to him, the THINK campaign will be a series of engagements across Taraba to encourage grassroots support for ongoing efforts by both the Federal and State Governments´ constituted conflict resolution commissions.

    “Our aim is that following these engagements, the sons and daughters of Taraba would choose a different course of action.

    “People should drop their various tools of violence and think about our actions and their repercussion, and embrace peaceful settlement of our differences,’’ he said.

    Nyanganji said that the THINK campaign had begun the production and distribution of campaign posters and handbills across the state for sensitisation on the need to embrace peace.

    NAN

  • Insecurity: Police arrest 500 suspects across Benue, Taraba, Adamawa

    The Nigeria Police Force is poised to effectively curb insecurity across the federation and close to five hundred suspects have recently been arrested across Benue, Taraba and Adamawa states, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Jimoh Moshood has said.

    “Honestly we are dealing with the situation head on, that is why we deploy strategies to prevent much more than to be reactive and we are engaging the communities because there is no way you can police in isolation, that is why we are championing the cause of community policing.

    “Though these crises occur but we have prevented far many more than the ones that have occurred.

    “That is why every hand must be on deck; across the world, police alone don’t resolve issues that lead to crime, the communities are very important to assist the police in doing so.”

    According to Moshood, there is a special directive from the Inspector-General of Police aiming to reinforce police special operations through the release of more personnel from the protection of VIPs and police administrative duties.

    “We call for calm because the Inspector General of Police has directed all Commissioners of Police in state commands and the AIGs, along with all their personnel, to be on red alert.

    “They have also been directed to take more personnel from administrative tasks so that we will have more personnel to deploy for operations.

    “The withdrawal of personnel from the VIPs is enabling us to have more men to deploy.

    ‘We are using more of our technical and intelligence-gathering platforms; we have made a lot of success and the most important thing around this time is the mopping up of illegal fire arms and prohibited weapons from wrong hands and this effort has been largely successful across the country.

    “This will help us to have a firm grip on the herders and farmers clashes and other kinds of killings that has been occurring but most importantly, the community is the centre-piece of our crime prevention strategy as we speak,” he said.

    Identifying potential causes of further breaches to security, the police spokesman noted that some mischievous elites are seeking to exploit the problems in certain areas by giving it some ethno-religious colouration that can inspire worse violence.

    “The threat to security is taking different dimension, some people what to manipulate the threats and give it different colourations so that it can become a widespread crises across the country and we call on people to be peaceful and calm and report suspicious movements to the police.

    “However, there is need for people who want to take advantage of the situation for political gains to know that it will not do them and the nation any good.

    “Mischievous politicians should know that the security of everybody is paramount.

    “We discourage people from going on vengeance or reprisal mission and to allow the police to investigate thoroughly; the most important thing at this time is that people should be more vigilant.

    “The police deployment is thorough; we have increased the numbers being deployed not only to Benue but to all those other flash points.

    “Aside from those handed over by the military and other agencies, we have arrested close to 500 across north central states where we have this problem. We have so many successes from Benue, Taraba and Adamawa.

    “We have arrested about 500 suspects that are involved in killings of innocent Nigerians; we are making progress but we want people to trust and have confidence in us that will do much more and we are not resting on our oars.”

  • Delay in connection project stalls completion of Kashimbilla Dam – Official

    The Federal Ministry of Water Resources says the delay in the connection of power transmission lines to the national grid was responsible for non-completion of the Kashimbilla Multipurpose Dam in Taraba.

    Mr Lawal Muhammad, the Acting Director, Dams and Reservoir Operations, in the ministry, said this on Friday in an interview with our reporter in Abuja.

    Muhammad said that the dam and the power generating components of the project had been completed.

    He said that the outstanding aspect of the project was the erection of power transmission lines that would convey electricity to the national grid, adding, however, that this was the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

    He said that work on water supply component of the dam had gone far, while work on the reticulation network had reached an advanced stage.

    Muhammad said that the irrigation component of the dam had been designed, while work on it had also reached an advanced stage.

    “We are studying the design; after the approval of the design for the contractor, we can then give him the go-ahead to start the construction,” he said.

    The acting director said that the dam had been completed, while its water had been impounded.

    He said that the dam project was also executed to control water surge whenever water was released from Lake Nyos in Cameroon.

    He said that the water, which was recently released from the lake, was intercepted by the dam in order to prevent flooding in the downstream parts of River Benue.

    “So now, instead of allowing the body of water to stay idle there, we can now utilise it to provide potable water for the people in Takum village and other areas of Taraba State,’’ he said.

    Muhammad said that when the dam was completed, it would have the capacity of generating 40 megawatts of hydro-power.

    He added that the power generation would be a plus to electricity supply to the citizens.

    Our reporter recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved an additional N46.15 billion for the completion of the remaining 10 per cent of the Kashimbila Dam project.

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, described the project as one of the ministry’s flagship projects, adding that it would be completed and put to use in 12 months.

    “The dam was identified by the United Nations (UN) as one of the key projects that we need to do to provide a buffer against flooding along the River Benue, which of course you remember in 2012 was quite devastating.

    “Certainly, flood around the River Benue has always been a recurring decimal, in view of the dams which have been constructed by Cameroon. Whenever water is released unsystematically, it continues to cause a lot of damage.’’

    Adamu stressed that the Federal Government was more committed to completing all ongoing dam projects across the country, rather than embarking on the construction of new ones.

    He said that the Federal Government was also not in a hurry to take up new water projects, adding that the construction of new dams invariably involved a lot of planning and design.

    NAN

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Bwacha flags off rehabilitation of Wukari-Ibi road

    Sen.  Emmanuel  Bwacha  representing Taraba South District  on Friday flagged off the rehabilitation  of  the 36.5-kilometre  Wukari -Ibi road which is expected to gulp  N1 billion.

    Speaking at the occasion, Bwacha said  the project, which was approved jointly by the Federal Ministry of  Agriculture as well as  Power, Works and Housing  as a rural road initiative,   had  funds appropriated for it  in the 2017 and 2018 budgets.

    The senator commended the Federal  Government for its commitment to  infrastructural development.

    Bwacha, who is also the Senate Deputy Minority Leader, urged  the people of the community to cooperate with  the contractor  to ensure the project was  completed in six weeks  as scheduled.

    The lawmaker  also said  work on the abandoned Akwana Mobile Police Barack which he initiated years ago as a House of Representatives member,  would soon resume as N1.3 billion  had been appropriated for it  in the 2018 budget.

    He said when completed, the barrack would help in ensuring security  on the fringes of the Taraba-Benue border.

    Also speaking at the occasion,  Gov.  Darius  Ishaku of Taraba commended Bwacha for facilitating  the road rehabilitation project for the benefit of the people.

    Represented by the Commissioner for Works, Mr Tafarki Agbadu, Ishaku also commended the Federal Government  for approving funds for the project.

    He, however,  appealed to the Federal Government  to refund the N32 billion the state government  had spent so far  on the rehabilitation  of federal roads.

    Mr Samuel  Oyafami, the  Director of Moulds Nig. Ltd, the company handling the Wukari –Ibi road project, said the road was first constructed in 1974 and had  not undergone full rehabilitation.

    Oyafami said his company would restore the road to its original state  within a record time.

    Reports from our reporter confirmed that Bwacha later proceeded to Jandeikyula village near Wukari where assailants  recently killed  32 people to commiserate with the families of the victims.

    NAN