The Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku on Monday visited the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to discuss the abandoned Mambilla Power station in the state and how to complete the project which was anticipated in 2018.
Details of the meeting will be updated shortly. See Photos Below.
A nursing mother identified as Sabina David has been kidnapped by gunmen in Taraba State.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday at the Kasuwan Bera area of Ardo-Kola Local Government.
Describing the incident, her husband, David Akipa, said the abductors came in their numbers shooting sporadically and on hearing the gunshots approaching his house, he fled, leaving his wife and the newborn.
According to him, when he returned home after some hours, both the wife and newborn were nowhere to be found.
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He further stated that he later got a call from the kidnappers who were demanding a N20 million ransom for their release.
Also speaking with Channels Television, an eyewitness, Gambo Danjuma, explained that the operation and shooting lasted for over two hours without any interference from security agencies resulting in many of the residents scampering for safety.
When contacted about the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer David Misal said the matter is yet to be reported to his desk.
Five persons have been killed by gunmen in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The chairman of the council Mr Daniel Grace confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Wednesday.
According to him, two were killed at Numa village, one at Toshan, while the other two were killed at Yoyina.
He further stated that many others were injured in the course of the attack and are currently receiving treatment.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, David Misal, however, said that only three were killed and that is what was reported to him by the Divisional Police Officer of Wukari.
“A commercial vehicle travelling from the East to Mubi in Adamawa State was shot at sporadically by suspected militia at a village near Wukari in Taraba State and a passenger was killed in the process,” he said.
“We also got information that two persons were killed on their farmlands in Wukari LGA”.
Misal further stated that the police has since been drafted to the affected areas to curtail further breakdown of law and order.
The Taraba state government has held a security meeting to bring to an end the unabated clashes between the Tiv and Jukun tribes in the state.
The meeting which is a follow up to the one held in Abuja, was held behind closed doors and some recommendations were made.
Briefing journalists shortly after the meeting, the state’s Deputy Governor Haruna Manu disclosed that a committee will be set up on Monday, September 16, where 15 persons from both Tiv and Jukun will present their interests.
Manu added that a joint patrol team involving all security agencies in the state will be set up with dedicated lines for distress calls to curb kidnapping and banditry.
Beyond that, he also noted that another recommended was that both Benue and Taraba states will liaise with the National Boundary Commission for adequate demarcation of their boundaries in order to minimise the conflict between the two tribes.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has sealed 12 petrol stations in Taraba State for none compliance to its rules of operation.
The Operations Controller, Jalingo field office, Mr Jeremiah Mashat, disclosed this on Wednesday.
According to him, some of the stations were guilty of under-dispensing the product and selling higher than the actual price.
Meanwhile, he also stated that the agency has granted site clearance for two locations for the installations of Liquefied Petroleum Gas plants in the state.
According to Mashat, the exercise is the first of its kind since the establishment of their office accommodation in Jalingo, in April 2019.
Before now, they usually come from Yola, the Adamawa State capital, to check client compliance, quality, quantity, price enforcement and operational safety as well as licencing of the facilities.
Mashat also disclosed that their campaign is not restricted to only filling stations but will soon extend to Gas retailers.
“We are going to extend our surveillance to the nooks and crannies of Taraba to ensure that Taraba State citizens feel our presence in the state,” he said.
One person has been reportedly killed and four others injured after gunmen attacked a farm along Kasuwan Haske Tanaye, in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.
According to the Chairman of the Council Shiban Tikari, the five persons who are all family members were harvesting their crops when the bandits stormed the farm and opened fire on them.
He said one of the victims died after he sustained serious gunshot wounds, while the remaining four are undergoing treatment in one of the hospitals located in the area.
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The area which is the home town of both Governor Darius Ishaku and the former Minister of Defense, General (rtd) Theophilus Y. Danjuma, has been notorious for various crimes ranging from kidnappings, communal clashes, to armed robbery.
The Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal, said the suspects are yet to be identified but more patrol teams have been deployed to the area for possible arrest.
As Nigerians await the submission of report by the 7- man investigative panel probing the killing of three police men in Ibi, Taraba State, another member of the arrested millionaire kidnapper Hamisu Balla alias ‘Wadume’ has been arrested in Wukari area of the state.
Channels Television gathered that the home of suspect simply identified as ‘Uche’ was busted in the early hours by a detachment of operatives from the Inspector general of police intelligence response team drawn from units across the country.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Re-Arrested Taraba Kidnap Suspect Speaks About Capture
This latest arrest now makes it six members of the gang in custody of the police with several arms recovered.
The team also recovered thirteen vehicles and identified over twenty houses allegedly owned by the kingpin.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, who leads the IRT, presented the gang leader Hamisu Balla before a military investigative panel for interrogations last week.
Submission of a report by the 7-man investigative panel to the Chief of Defence Staff is expected to take place on Monday.
The Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has reviewed the existing curfew imposed on some parts of Jalingo and Ardo Kola Local Government Areas of the state.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity Bala Dan-Abu, the new curfew would take effect between 12:00 am and 6:00 am daily.
He, however, noted that the review does not affect Keke Napep operators and their curfew remains between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am.
The governor further directed security agencies in the state to arrest and ensure the prosecution of Keke Napep operators or anyone who violates the restriction order.
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The development comes two days after the panel set up by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters to investigate the killing of three police officers and a civilian by soldiers in the state, arrived in Jalingo.
Led by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya, the panel arrived at the Taraba Government House on Wednesday where they met with Governor Darius Ishaku behind closed doors.
Family members of late Mark Ediale, a police inspector who was one of those allegedly killed by army officers in Taraba State are demanding for justice.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the elder brother to the slain police officer, Andrew Ediale, said the family is not after any form of compensation from the government.
Rather, according to him, the family is only seeking a thorough investigation that will bring all the perpetrators to book.
He, therefore, called on the Federal Government and international bodies to intensify efforts towards ensuring justice.
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The Nigeria Police Force through its spokesman, DCP Frank Mba had said that soldiers killed three officers of the Force and a civilian while on investigative activities within the Ibi area of Taraba.
According to him, the incident occurred when they went to arrest one Alhaji Hamisu who had been indicted in a series of high-profile kidnap incidents in the State.
But the Acting Director Of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, troops of 93 Battalion Nigerian Army Takum, said they initially thought the officers were kidnappers and hence, exchanged fire with them, only to discover that they were members of an intelligence response team on a covert operation from Police Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has appealed to the Tivs and Jukuns in the state to sheath their swords and embrace peace.
He made the appeal in a statewide broadcast while wishing Muslims a happy Sallah celebration.
According to him, his administration has consistently synergised and engaged with the leadership of the two faiths in the state in a bid to finding religious fulfilment.
Read Also: Federal University Wukari Shut Down Over Alleged Kidnap Of Tiv Students
He, therefore, appealed to the groups to see each other as brothers and sisters, adding that violence does no one any good.
Speaking further, the governor reminded Muslims in the state of the need to make sacrifices and imbibe the great lessons of humility and tolerance as exemplified by the great prophet of Islam.
The management of the Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, has shut down the institution.
The move followed a protest staged by the Tiv Students Union over the alleged kidnap of their colleagues.
According to a statement released and approved by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abubakar Kundiri, the management directed that all activities should stop until further notice, to avoid an escalation of any crisis.
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They also directed that all students should vacate the school hostels with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, at the time of filling this report, there was a counter-protest by the Student Union Government for the reversal of the management’s decision to suspend school activities.
This follows a lingering crisis between the Tiv and Jukun tribe in Wukari Local Government Area.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed before it by the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Sani Danladi, in the March 9, 2019, Taraba State Governorship election, challenging his disqualification by the Federal High Court in Jalingo.
A five-man Panel of the Supreme Court headed by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed, dismissed the appeal filed by Mr Danladi for being incompetent and failing to meet the requirements of the law.
Mr Danladi was disqualified from contesting the 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state on March 6, 2019, by the Federal High Court, Jalingo presided over by Honourable Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Affirms Oyetola’s Victory In Osun Election
The court based its decision on allegations of false declaration of age by Mr Danladi in the documents provided to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, on March 7, 2019, the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola stayed the execution of the judgment of the lower in favour of Mr Danladi, which enabled him to stand for the March 9, 2019 Governorship election in Taraba state.
But the appellate Court subsequently struck out the Appeal for being incompetent.
Mr Danladi further appealed to the Supreme Court which affirmed the judgment of the appeal court.
