Headlines

Untold Story Of Massacres In Taraba

Published

10 years ago

June 6, 2016

Gory Tales Of How women, Children and The Aged Were Hacked Down In Bali, Gashaka
Gov Ishaku talks Tough, Charges Citizens On Peace

By Inuwa BWALA, who was in Jalingo
Taraba State may have passed through different phases of crises in the past, but the recent attack on Bali and Gashaka Local Government Areas of the state by Fulani marauders has been described as one attack too many. It was the unleashing of unprovoked anger on two sleeping communities, in which, women, children and the aged were at the receiving end.
The story may have been told from various angles, but no matter what was said of the particular incidents there seem more stories to be told, as our correspondent gathered that the casualty figure was deliberately downplayed and the degree of destruction also under reported in the media.
nationalTRAIL which has been following developments in Taraba State reveals that, what happened was a seeming vindication of Governor Darius Ishaku’s earlier fears over the mass influx of strangers into Taraba state, for which he sanctioned some traditional rulers, against fears that permeated Taraba State in the wake of the national security challenges.
The Governor, apparently seeing the warning signals, to the effect that nowhere was safe, had at a security meeting in Jalingo the State capital, shortly before the attacks on Bali and Gashaka took steps to stop the mass influx of non indigenes into some parts of Taraba. Ostensibly in active connivance with some traditional rulers, he was challenged on grounds of ethno religious sentiments.
At another forum, a senator from the state had alerted on the infiltration of Taraba state by people suspected to harbour hatred for the indigenous tribes, but again his fears were dismissed; on the grounds that it was a diatribe on some groups, only for the same strangers to manifest their true motives.
Even those who opposed both the Governor and the senator are now living in fears, with many lamenting that, the affected communities may never recover from the devastation caused, just as rebuilding the affected communities may take toll on the already fragile resources of the state. This is in addition to the dislocation of the long existing socio economic bonds, between herdsmen and the host communities in Taraba.
The destroyed structures, as well as the human casualties remain inestimable, a development that could have made the Governor, Darius Ishaku failing to control his emotions when he beheld the scenes of the massacre. But many Tarabans could not fault him now, as he had taken steps to nip the matter in the bud.
Ishaku who had just been confirmed as validly elected Governor of Taraba State, before the twin incidents, was said to have been at the verge of total emotional breakdown, seeing corpses all over the communities, amongst which were women, children and the aged. He could not afford the luxury of celebrating his hard earned victory with ease, and had to make it low keyed.
The Governor had in his remarks at the solemn ceremony following the renewed attacks on some communities in Gashaka and Bali vowed to eliminate any form of insurgency by evil agents within the borders of Taraba State, just as he maintained that his Government will leave no stone unturned in apprehending the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
nationalTRAIL recalls that, a group of unknown gun men, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, unleashed terror on people in some communities in Gashaka and Bali Local Governments leaving over 44 persons dead, 5 injured, 6 missing and over 100 displaced women and children.
The affected communities are Dorei where 8 people were reported massacred and 6 children missing, Angai where over 20 people were reported killed and 5 injured, and Maisuma where 9 people were reported to have been shot dead while in Fali 7 people were reported killed.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the attack started with the attempted rape of a woman by the armed bandits and when the lady resisted the marauders decided to unleash mayhem on entire communities.
The truth about the immediate and remote causes of this last attack may not be known now, but investigations reveal that, the attacking herders were merely using their vocation as an alibi, as there may be a more sinister plot to destabilize Taraba, if accounts of some victims of the attack were anything to go by.
According to them, some of the attackers have foreign accent, and the type of weapons they carry are not the ordinary ones local herdsmen carry, making people to believe that there may be more than meets the eyes to the growing sophistication in the manner of the attacks.
Painting the gory picture of what took place that fateful Monday, one of the survivors of the mayhem, Musa Tanimu, told nationalTRAIL that, the attackers hacked down everything in sight, not sparing the women, children and the aged, whose cries of anguish rented the air, as everybody took flight from the communities, without any specific destination in mind.
“We returned the next day and took some of these pictures that I will give you; we want you to tell the world how we have been made captives in our own land by people we have sheltered over the years. We even give them our farms after harvest to feed their cattle, yet they still kill us”, he lamented in Hausa.
But the Government is looking beyond a mere quarrel over attempts to satisfy the sexual desires of Fulani young men, as according to sources, the Fulani’s have for long nursed the idea of displacing local communities in Taraba state and convert their farms to grazing fields.
The foreigners noticed amongst the antagonists may have been invited by their local kins, and they may have brought in the sophisticated weapons used during the attacks. Witnesses confirmed that the guns were similar to the ones being used by Boko Haram insurgents.
nationalTRAIL gathered that, it was against the background of consistent antagonism against Local Communities, coupled with intelligence reports available to the Government, that the Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku took proactive steps to mitigate the influx of suspicious persons from some other States into Taraba. But even before then, people had already massively migrated to parts of Taraba State, some of whom had become threats to the host communities.
The Attack on Bali and Gashaka, our correspondent reports was one of series of such attacks in the past on farmers by Fulani herders. Reports indicate that some host communities had been completely sacked, while in others, many families had to flee their homes at certain hours of the day, thereby prompting strict measures by security agents.
In a press statement immediately following the attacks, Governor Ishaku’s spokesman, Sylvanus Giwa expressed the Government’s concern over the most recent killings, which he said was a major setback to current efforts by the Government to resettle IDPs to their homes and for people to resume their normal activities.
Our correspondent reports that, the attack has displaced over 100 women and children who are taking refuge in Mayo-Selbe, Kungana and Garbabi, while others have been relocated to Jalingo and other surrounding places presumed to be safer.
Long after the attacks had come and gone, tears are still flowing for the dead, hopes seem to be deeming for the return of the missing, the scars on those injured still remain visible, as the Government grapples to rebuild the confidence of citizens to return home. At this time of economic hardship, the fears may linger for long

Headlines

2027: THE MANY WARS IN PARTIES

Published

3 weeks ago

June 1, 2026

Our Reporter

☆ ADC, PDP, NDC, LP Tacle APC Amidst Internal Wranglings.
☆ Party primaries trigger godfather vs godson clashes.
By: Our Special Correspondent.

Election periods always make Nigeria a political melting pot. Tensions, intrigues, violence, manipulations and grandstanding have been the order.
2027 may not be an exception, as already, the polity is heating up and political players are up in arms.
Between political parties, battle lines are being drawn.
It is no longer news that, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi of the NDC have secured the presidential tickets for their various political parties, ahead of the 2027 elections.
While Nigerians await the outcome of the presidential primaries for the other parties, it is apparent that the leading dramatis personae of the 2023 presidential election debacle, are set to square it out again in 2027.
But, while most, if not all the opposition political parties are emershed in multi-dimenssional crisis, the stage seems set for dirtier political schemings, in the quest to wrestle power from the ruling APC.
With the apparent collapse of the much talked about coalition, frontline candidates may again go into the election as a divided house, as the parties are further polarized by the attendant crisis arising from the just concluded primaries.
The ruling APC, also faced with similar crisis following the primaries. The primaries of all the parties seem to have sparked internal wranglings
across Edo, Delta, Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Rivers and other states. In most states, the primaries for governorship, Senate and House of Representatives seats have triggered deepening crises between governors, former governors, senators and entrenched party blocs.
While one may regard such disagrerments as normal and could be resolved before the main election, the disagreement between President Tinubu and the opposition may linger.

The President is fighting hard to ward of attacks over his failed promises which were made in 2023, as campaign issues.
Similarlly, the issue of insecurity, fuel subsidy, pol8cy summersault, and general cost of living have been brought to the front burner, in political discourse.
Tinubu told Nigerians on Friday that subsidy removal and forex reforms have revived investor confidence, lifted market cap to 250,000 points, and drawn new oil and gas investment. He also said security operations have “intensified” against bandits, separatists and insurgents.
But critics insist that Tinubu’s camp is working to cripple opposition parties reminescent of the Abacha-era dark days.
In apparent move to realign forces and reshape 2027, NDC’s Peter Obi has announced Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
Obi told a gathering brfore naming Kwankwaso as his running mate, that, the Vice President office under him, will be “an active partner, not ceremonial”. The NDC held a special convention Saturday to affirm Obi as flagbearer where he promised 10,000MW electricity generation. Labour Party has also presented Dr. Chibuzo Okereke as its presidential candidate, a lowly rated personality.
At the sub-national level, political players are pulling the strings from different end. Most governors are being accused of imposing their cronies as governorship, senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates.
The national leadership of the APC has been struggling hard to adress the widespread crisis occassioned by the primaries. The APC, in Lagos amidst the internal wars, has picked Princess Damilola Sonayon-James as running mate to Lagos governorship candidate Dr. Obafemi Hamzat. Both are seen as stooges of the governor and by extenssion the President.
In Rivers, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has vowed that, the APC “Rainbow Coalition” will agree on one governorship candidate and that ADC’s Atiku won’t get 10% of Rivers votes. Though the candidate has not yet been named.
Wike also declared “Rivers has no option but to back Tinubu”.
In several states, there have been massive decampments from the APC in particular, because of unfavourable outcomes of the primaries.
All these point to a turbulent outing for the APC, even as the ruling party.
As for the opposition parties, they all have been emasculated, and may not be able to pose much threat to the ruling APC.
While the political wranglings were going on the most serious threat to the APC remains the rising concern over insecurity. The issue seem to have ignited anger across the country, with Federal Workers Forum threatening an indefinite nationwide strike over rising insecurity and unresolved wages. SERAP, has meanwhile urged the UN Secretary-General to invoke Article 99 over Nigeria’s “escalating insecurity—mass abductions, killings, displacements”.

Headlines

“Nigeria Is in a Hurry to Celebrate Victory Over Enemies of the State,” Says Tinubu as He Decorates New Service Chiefs

Published

8 months ago

October 30, 2025

Our Reporter

By: Fabian Apechihin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the newly appointed service chiefs to discharge their duties with utmost dedication and renewed commitment, declaring that “Nigeria is in a hurry to celebrate victory over enemies of the state.”

The President made this statement on Thursday during the decoration ceremony of the new service chiefs with their ranks at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Those decorated were General Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant-General Wahidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff, Air Marshal Kennedy Aneke as Chief of Air Staff, and Vice Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff.

The ceremony was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the spouses of the newly promoted officers, who joined the President in performing the decorations.

In his address, Tinubu underscored the central role of security in fostering national development and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians.

“Security is an essential element without which everything else becomes meaningless,” the President stated. “There can be no sustainable development if this fundamental need is not met. Our people and our nation must remain secure to enjoy the dividends of governance.”

The elevation and decoration of the new military chiefs followed their confirmation by the National Assembly on Wednesday, after a closed-door screening session with lawmakers.

It will be recalled that, in a recent overhaul of the nation’s military hierarchy, President Tinubu appointed:

Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff,
Major General Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff,
Rear Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff,
Air Vice Marshal Sunday Aneke as Chief of Air Staff, and
Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye retained as Chief of Defence Intelligence.

The new appointments mark a strategic restructuring of Nigeria’s security leadership aimed at strengthening the fight against insurgency, banditry, and other threats to national stability.

Headlines

FG Dismisses Coup Rumour, Reaffirms Confidence in Nigerian Military

Published

8 months ago

October 20, 2025

Our Reporter

By: Fabian Apechihin

The Federal Government has dismissed widespread rumours of an alleged military coup plot against President Bola Tinubu, declaring its full confidence in the loyalty and professionalism of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known in an interview with The Punch on Sunday, insisting that the administration has “no reason whatsoever” to doubt the assurances given by the Defence Headquarters, which had earlier denied reports linking the detention of 16 military officers to a coup attempt.

“The Federal Government has no reason to doubt the military on what it has said,” Idris stated.
“We believe the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed to protecting the nation’s territorial integrity and strengthening the fight against insecurity. The government commends their sacrifice and will continue to support them in safeguarding the country.”

The minister’s remarks came a day after the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, firmly debunked a report by Sahara Reporters alleging that the detention of 16 officers was connected to a failed coup plot and the cancellation of the 65th Independence Day parade.

Gusau described the publication as “false, mischievous, and deliberately aimed at creating unnecessary tension and public distrust.”

He clarified that the cancellation of the October 1 Independence Day parade was a purely administrative decision — taken to allow President Tinubu attend a key bilateral meeting abroad and to enable military units sustain ongoing counterinsurgency operations nationwide.

On the issue of the detained officers, Gusau said their case was “an internal disciplinary process” and not related to any political matter.

“The investigation involving the 16 officers is routine, aimed at upholding discipline and professionalism within the ranks,” he explained. “An investigative panel has been constituted, and its findings will be made public in due course.”

Reaffirming the military’s constitutional role and unwavering commitment to civilian rule, Gusau stressed emphatically: