Taraba Facts

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is to appeal the January 30, 2019 ruling of Justice Stephen Pam of a Federal High Court, sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, which discharged and acquitted a former acting governor of the state, Sani Abubakar Danladi, for an alleged N450 million fraud. Based on findings during investigation, the EFCC had charged Danladi along with Joel Ikenya and Mark Useni to Court, for conspiracy and violation of financial regulations. They were alleged to have collected the said sum as part of monetary inducement, to influence the outcome of the 2015 general election. It is worth noting, that on January 25, 2019 the EFCC secured the conviction of two former staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who were charged to court, for similar offences. They were alleged to have partaken in the "sharing" of several sums of money, in the build-up to the general election, without going through a financial institution. Th...

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General TY Buratai, is undertaking a 4 day operational visit of units under 3 Division area of responsibility, in particular, the 20 Model Battalion of the Nigerian Army located in Taraba State. Shortly on arrival at Jalingo, Taraba State capital on Monday 28th January 2019, the COAS paid a courtesy call on the State Governor, His Excellency, Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku at the Government House. The following day, he went to Serti Baruwa, Gashaka Local Government Area, where he paid courtesy call on Lamdo of Gashaka, His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr) Zubairu Mohammed Sambo Hamman Gabdo II at his palace and thereafter went to 20 Model Battalion. The Lamdo Gashaka also presented a gift of a stallion and sword to the COAS. At the unit, the COAS after inspecting the Quarter Guard mounted in his honour, commissioned the Agent Banking Services in the barracks. In his remarks during the commissioning, he stated that the decision for th...

Federal High Court, sitting in Jalingo Taraba State, has discharged and acquitted Sani Abubakar Danladi, former acting Governor and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, of alleged fraud. Also acquitted are Joel Ikenya, a former Minister of Labour and Productivity, and Mark Bako Useni, former Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly. The court also gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a 72-hour ultimatum to refund the sum of N228million to the defendants. The EFCC had filed the case against the trio on alleged fraud involving N450million. Justice Stephen Pam ruled that the case by the EFCC lacked merit and ordered the anti-graft agency to refund N228million, which was earlier remitted to the commission by the defendants. The judge maintained that the EFCC could not substantiate its evidence against the defendants, and urged the commission to desist from infringing on the rights of innocent citizens. In his r...

Hasan Mijimyawa, the Chief Press Secretary to Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has been kidnapped today in the state. Mr Mijinyawa was kidnapped in the early hours of Wednesday (today) along Bali Gashaka road by unknown gunmen.  A source who spoke to Tribune Online on condition of anonymity said the press secretary was kidnapped while he was travelling in his official vehicle with his driver. “He was kidnapped today while he was going to see the governor who travelled yesterday to Gashaka for official assignment, the press secretary was not supposed to travel but there are some items the governor left behind that were needed immediately in Gashaka today. “He left early this morning with his driver only for us to hear that his wife called the deputy governor of Taraba State, Haruna Manu that her husband has been kidnapped. “According to the wife, the kidnappers blocked the vehicle, picked only the Chief press secretary and left the driver, the kidnappe...

The prevailing unstable security situation in the South – West and North- West region of Cameroon, has forced Cross River, Taraba and Benue states to play host to 35, 000 Cameroonian refugees and asylum seekers who fled ongoing violence that has ravaged their homes, United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) has revealed.  (UNHCR)’s Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Nigeria Situation and Regional Representative for West Africa, Liz Kpam Ahua made this revelation yesterday, at the ongoing  2nd Regional Protection Dialogue on the Lake Chad Basin in Abuja. LEADERSHIP recalls that the crisis erupted last year in Cameroon after protests turned violent, amid calls for secession. So far, some 400 civilians have been killed in escalating attacks between separatist groups and government forces, She said the refugees, which include mainly women and children, are in urgent need of food, water, shelter and medical care. Ahua who lamented that the multi – national c...

The  Taraba State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, has promised to revive the local government administration in the state, to bring governance and development closer to the people, if elected governor Danladi made the promise in Bali Local Sovernment Area of the state, yesterday, while addressing the people as part of his tour of the central zone of the state. He said the current situation where local governments are run from the state capital by state administrators, rather than the local government authorities, is detrimental to the growth of the state. “I’ve been in this system, and I can tell you there is so much desired. One of my top priorities would be to revive the local government administration in the state, so that what is meant for them goes to them for development. That is the only way we can bring development to the doorsteps of the people. This present situation where local governments are ...

Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai of the Nigerian army today visited Governor Darius Ishaku at the Government house Jalingo. Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State H.E Arch. Ishaku said his administration has always sought after the collaborative efforts of the Nigerian army towards the maintenance of peace. He stated that he still hopes for a well equipped Nigerian Police force in other not to stretch the Nigerian Army who are tasked with the responsibility of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation. Governor Ishaku assured General Buratai of his full support in all of their assignments and the continuous welfare of his soldiers in the state with the efforts made on the on-going renovation work at the twenty model barracks Serti Baruwa, Gashaka Local Government Area. Earlier, General Buratai expressed his concord to joining forces with other security agencies in safeguarding the lives and property of the cit...

Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has described his first term in office as “a foundation laying stage,” saying he needs a second term to complete all that he started. After a successful campaign tour of Southern Taraba -his political district, Ishaku stated at the weekend that he was confident of sweeping the gubernatorial poll on March 2. The tour in southern Taraba took him to Ussa, Ibi, Wukari and Donga local government areas. He rounded up in Takum -his country home, where he told supporters he was thanking them ahead of the Election Day. He said he knows the people would re-elect him, because anywhere he stopped over to campaign, the people gave him the assurance that he was their choice. The rallies were done in open fields and in town-halls -in the form of meetings -to brainstorm on a strategy that would bring victory at the poll. Ishaku’s campaign team has adopted a strategy called: “Operation Win Your Polling Unit (OWYPU)” by all his influent...

Casual workers in various ministries, departments and media houses in Taraba state have demanded for permanent appointment to enable them get better pay. The workers lamented that they were being paid stipend of N4,000 to N7,000 as monthly salary  and that  they were being  exploited  by the state government by  engaging them as casual staff for the past 10 years. One of such staff in one of the state`s ministry in Jalingo said that he has been engaged as casual staff since 2008 and being paid N4000 as monthly salary. He told our reporter that he and other casual staff in the ministry report and close for work at the same time with permanent staff, but only paid N4000 as salary without any allowance. Another casual staff working in the state Radio Corporation, who did not want her name to be mentioned, said she has been a casual staff in the station for the past 10 years on N7000 monthly salary. According to her, she took the casual job be...

Jalingo – The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) on Saturday trained hundreds of security operative on neutrality during the upcoming general elections. INEC had slated the Presidential/NASS polls for Feb. 16 and Governorship/State Assembly for March 2. Alhaji Baba Yusuf, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Taraba, while declaring the training open, explained that the electorate were watching how the commission and the security apparatus would protect them and their votes. He noted that high level of professionalism and efficiency was needed and expected from security operators to apprehend electoral offenders. “INEC can only conduct a peaceful, credible and a generally-acceptable election through the assistance of security agencies and other stakeholders in the electoral process. “The voters expect us to protect their votes and ensure they count, and that is why the commission is exploring all measures that will make the voting exercise transp...

Gembu and Dakka towns in Bali and Sardauna local government areas of Taraba State have recorded first rain Saturday. Reports from the two local government areas revealed that heavy rainfall, which lasted several hours, was recorded Kurmi and Gashaka part of Bali as well as Takum and Sardauna local government areas used to record first rainfall of year between January and February. Though planting will not start, the rainfall recorded was a signal for farmers to prepare for the new farming season. -Daily Trust 

Food crisis has rocked the Internally Displaced Persons Camp located in Negatavah Government Primary and Secondary School in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital. The IDPs,  SUNDAY PUNCH  learnt, now go from house to house to beg for food. Our correspondent, who visited the camp on Saturday, reported that the children looked malnourished as some mothers have resorted to menial jobs and begging to get food for their children. An IDP, Mrs Yarda Musa, who lamented the hardships facing them, said lack of food and medicals were the main problems. She said, “When we came into the camp over a year ago, we were being fed three times a day, but as we progressed, the feeding was reduced to two times a day and for the past three weeks we only eat once a day. “As we speak, we don’t know what our children will eat the next day. Our food has finished and our children are crying for food, but we cannot help it. Many of the IDPs are now out to beg for food from people in the nei...

Alhaji Sani Danladi, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba, says the state has yet to experience meaningful development since it was created in 1991. Danladi said this on Thursday while receiving no fewer than 4,000 defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and United Democratic Party (UDP) to the APC in Gassol Local Government Area of the state. He said that Taraba was richly endowed with abundant human and material resources waiting to be harnessed for the overall development of the state. He said that the state had huge potential in tourism, water resources, tea and coffee growing and animal husbandry. He said that an APC administration would provide quality education, better health care and a revolution in agriculture, if voted into power. Danladi, who is a former deputy and acting governor of Taraba, said that he had the experience and political will to transform the state. He welcomed the new members and assure...

The Taraba Police Commissioner, David Akinremi, said yesterday that the command is investigating last week’s attack on the APC gubernatorial candidate in the state, Sani Danladi Abubakar and his campaign team in Wukari. He announced this through the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Tafida, who represented him at the signing of peace accord by the APC gubernatorial candidate at the command headquarters in Jalingo. The police commissioner described the attack as unfortunate and assured that the command will provide adequate security during and after the elections in the state. action of the police divisional officer in charge of Wukari, whom he said refused to respond to distress calls to him during the attack on the pretense that he was not informed of the visit to the town by the candidate. Sani Danladi stated further that before he embarked on the campaign tour, he had written and obtained approval from the police commissioner. He said the attack on his campaign te...