Taraba Facts

Three people were reportedly killed during a conflict between Tivs and Ichecn at Mararaba Baissa in Kurumi Local governments area. Many houses and shops were set ablized during the conflict. The eyewitness said that Security personnels has since taking over the area to clam tension among Residents.

The Taraba State Deputy Governor Engineer Haruna Manu has said that two caretaker local government chairmen in the state are currently facing disciplinary action for not complying with the lockdown order put in place by the state government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manu, who disclosed this at a state broadcast in Jalingo, said that the state government has also made the use of face mask compulsory in public places. He said that the “government has observed with dismay that several village markets are being operated in total disregard for the order closing all markets in the state. The caretaker chairmen for all local governments in the state are directed to ensure strict compliance of government directives in their domain. Already two chairmen are being disciplined for not complying with government directive on market closure. “Government has decided that that, henceforth, the wearing of facemasks is compulsory in public places throughout the state. Go...

●  One Person Was Shot... The incident happened in Karamti village of Gashaka Local Government of Taraba when men of the Nigerian police came to enforce lockdown order in the village. The police asked people to close their shops and also stopped vehicles from entering the market. However some youths in the village were not happy with what the police were doing at the market and they started throwing stones at the vehicle of the policemen. MORE DETAILS....

Taraba State like others has received trailer loads of Palliatives from the Federal Government under Ministry of Humanitarian and Desaster Management. Mr Grema who represented the Minister of Humanitarian and Desaster Management handed over the Palliatives to Senators and the Member House of Representatives for each Constituency for being closer to the masses for distribution to their respective Constituencies in this trying moment of the lockdown to ease hardships and suffering of the masses. For Taraba Central, Senatorial Zone and the Sardauna, Gashaka, and Kurmi Constituency, its have been handed over to Senator Yusuf A Yusuf and the Member House of Representatives, Mr David Abel Fua respectively for distribution across their Constituencies. The Palliatives are currently being distributed as ordered by President Muhammad Buhari as relief materials for the masses in this trying moment of the lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic acr...

Fellow Tarabans We all woke up this morning to the shocking news of six confirmed cases of Covid-19 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, from samples taken from persons already quarantined by the State Task Force on Covid 19 who are presently at the NYSC isolation center, Sibre. 2. The persons are among 130 interstate travelers from Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Borno, Ogun and Lagos states intercepted at our borders. You will recall that the committee had earlier intercepted on two occasions 65 and 59 persons from Ogun state enroute to Adamawa state and were allowed to proceed amid tight security. 3. I therefore commend the proactive steps of the committee which led to the isolation and identification of the reported cases. 4. I wish to assure the good people of Taraba State that this is not a time for panic as Government is on top of the situation. Additional manpower and resources have been mobilized and deployed to trace contacts of all those that have tested positiv...

Two children died in a crowd stampede at Jalingo main market in Taraba during panic shopping in hours allotted for resident to stock household needs. Illustration (Not Jalingo Market) With the state in lockdown, residents are allowed to go out between 10am and 2pm to stock up on home needs. Thousands of shoppers trooped to the market to buy food items resulting in the stampede as they tried to beat the 2pm deadline. Both children were on their mothers’ back in the stampede. The mothers fainted and were rushed to hospital. The names of mothers of the two infants were not immediately identify as at the time of filling this report. An eye witness in the market, Hassan Zubairu said pick pockets took advantage of the situation to rob people. “A middle age woman raised alarm when she discovered that that her money was removed from her hand bag,” the eye witness said. When contacted, the police spoke person DSP David Misal said the police have no such report.

His Excellency, the Governor of Taraba State, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku has urged the Muslim Ummah in the state to use this Ramadhan period to pray for an end to the present Coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world. In a goodwill message to Muslims to mark the Holy month of Ramadan which began today, Governor Ishaku said the world was in dire need of prayers in view of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated economic and humanitarian challenges that Nigeria and the rest of the world face today. He urged them and all other indegens and residents in the state not to relent in their adherence to the habits of personal hygiene by washing their hands regularly and use hand sanitizers in addition to the observation of social distancing and the lockdown which demands that people stay at home.. He prayed to Allah to answer their prayers and reward them for their sacrifices during this Holy month of Ramadan. BALA DAN ABU Special Adviser to the Governor (Media and Publi...

Against the backdrop of the decision taken by Taraba state Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku to safeguard the state and nip possibilities of community infections of Covid-19 pandemic in the bud through imposition of total lockdown in the state, he charged the Council Chairmen of Takum, Ussa, Kurmi and Sardauna to tighten their border communities with Cameroon as captured thus in the press release; “Security operatives have been ordered to mount surveillance checkpoints in Ibi, Wukari, Mayo-lope, Zing, and Takum-Katsina/Ala entry points. That the security operatives should work with Chairmen of Takum, Ussa, Kurmi and Sardauna Local Government Councils to seal off entry points along the Cameroon border”. Sequel to the above order by Governor Ishaku, the Chairman of Takum local government council, Hon. Shiban Tikari swung to action to find ways to checkmating the influx of Cameroonians as well as ensuring residents of the border communities are properly sensitised o...

Governor Ishaku today expressed sertisfaction at the level of the work done on the dualization of the welcome to Jalingo City gate through the Airport. The Governor was on a COVID-19 facilities inspection and  stopped over to see for him self the level of work carried out on the project. Speaking to news men Gov Ishaku in company of His Deputy Enrg Haruna Manu said the work is on a good speed with a commendable quality. He however said the work will not be delivered at the earlier scheduled time due to the COVID-19 Pandemic which has slowed the work terribly. Gov Ishaku said even though the projects was scheduled to be 100% completed and delivered in 18 months it may not be so any longer as the contractors have reassured the delivery to be 24 months as the new date for completion of the project. On same note the Governor also visited the newly build Senate Building of the Taraba State University and expressed gladness at the level of quality job done on the two buildings, ...

Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku today went round the state capital to inspect the COVID-19 facilities among which include the Isolation center. The Governor expressed satisfaction with the facilities he saw at the isolation center located at the Specialist Hospital Jalingo. The Governor however, expressed worries concerning one of the ventilators which was sent to the state which he noticed wasn’t working properly and directed the commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai to contact the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) immediately for replacement or for any available one to purchase. Governor Ishaku once again called on the citizens to be patient with the present situation (lockdown) saying it is for the good of the state and assured that he is alert in making sure that everything is in place in keeping the state safe from the pandemic. He was in the company of His Deputy, Engr. Haruna Manu, SSG Hon. Anthony Jellason, Chief of Staff Rt. Hon. Istiphanus Har...

  Both you and I agreed that, Corona virus is a Chinese citizen before becoming the citizen of the world. In Nigeria it was licensed by the Aviation sector, the Immigration and the Custom officers for giving permit to the said So-called Italian man who was the Virus index. Also regrettably, for their inability to isolate all the returnees from the affected countries of the world then. Letting then reuniting with their families, friends and relatives. Such irresponsible act of the NCDC and all the Agencies involved is causing us our Food, sources of livelihood and worse of all affecting our religious activities. Taraba State government had made the right decision by shutting down everything street in Jalingo and the main entrances of the state in order to prevent widespread of COVID-19 despite not recording case. For instance, Initially the country started with a lockdown to curb possible spread, later came up Total lockdown in the affected states. La...

The Commissioner, Taraba State Ministry for Urban Development, Hon. Saleh Sa'ad alongside other members of Taraba State Covid-19 Technical Committee has earlier today inspected the intercepted travelers at the quarantine centre. The travelers were intercepted by Taraba State covid-19 task force members in collaboration with the security operatives along the boundaries of the state. The travelers were coming back to Taraba from Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe and Ogun States. It could be vividly recalled that, the travelers were coming from the states with confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, and based on the guidelines of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), any person coming from a location with confirmed covid-19 case(s) must be quarantined for the period of two weeks, as such the travelers were all quarantined. Meanwhile, the committee has already taken care of there well being and other logistics for the quarantine period, hence they will all be tested while ...

TEXT OF A STATEWIDE  BROADCAST BY THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF TARABA STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY ENGR. HARUNA MANU, IN RESPECT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN ON APRIL 21, 2020. Fellow Tarabans, It is necessary for me to address you today on matters relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and the decisions taken by the state government to further safeguard our people from the affliction. This has become necessary in view of the increasing number of confirmed cases in our neighbouring states. In spite of the fact that we have not recorded any confirmed case in Taraba so far, we must not be complacent.  We have, therefore, resolved to take the following decisive steps. There will be a total lockdown throughout the state beginning from tomorrow Wednesday April 22, at 11:00pm All violators of this directive will be arrested and prosecuted. Vehicles found on the road during the period of the lockdown will be impounded. A mobile court will be established to promptly try offenders at the vari...

The Victim Support Fund, VSF, has handed over food items, personal protective equipment and medical supplies worth N100 million to Taraba state government for onward distribution to the vulnerable, including Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs and medical facilities in the state. Chairperson of the VSF COVID-19 emergency taskforce team, Toyosi Akerele – Ogunsiji who presented the items to the state government Friday, in Jalingo the state capital, noted that the palliatives would help cushion the effect of the partial lockdown imposed on the state due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. According to her, “we flagged off the distribution of these items in Abuja on Tuesday, and from there we have moved to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. “We are here to present that of Taraba state to the government for onward distribution to the vulnerable and those in the IDP camps. ” These items which include rice, beans, maize, garri, salt and 4 litres of vegetable oil and personal protective eq...

Operatives of the Special Tactical Squad of the Inspector General of Police have arrested 24 suspected kidnappers in Taraba State. Mr David Misal, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, confirmed this to reporters on Monday in Jalingo, the state capital. According to him, the police team engaged the suspects in a gunfight during which the leader of the gang was killed. The gang leader, simply identified as Gagare, was brutally injured in the fire exchange which led to his death shortly after arriving at the Police Command Headquarters in Jalingo. Misal said the suspects kidnapped one Alhaji Dauda, collected a ransom and killed him thereafter a few months ago. He added that they have been terrorising residents of Wukari, Ardo-Kola, and Kurmi Local Government Areas of the state. The command’s spokesman explained that the police have been on the trail of the suspects for a while and after intelligence gathering, they stormed their hideouts which led to their...

For refusing to call for regular congress meetings, the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Taraba State has impeached its exco led by Wole Ayodele of Thisday Newspaper. 18 of the 25-member Chapel signed the impeachment notice. Sani Sulaiman of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), in a conference at the NUJ Centre in Jalingo, said the impeachment followed a vote- of- no confidence earlier passed on the excos. He explained that for refusing to hold congresses, the excos has violated Article 5(F)(6.a) of the Constitution of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). “The inability of the exco officials to hold congresses translates to lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of the chapel,” he added. He said that Congress acted under Article 7, Subsection 3(III) of the NUJ Constitution to impeach the officials who have betrayed their trust. Sulaiman added: “When the former Secretary of the Chapel, Mall...

Taraba State Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku has commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari on the death of his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari. The was revealed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu. According to the media aide, Gov. Ishaku described the death of Abba Kyari as very unfortunate and a big loss to the country. He described the late Chief of Staff to the President as an epitome of humility and hardwork who served his country with a high sense of responsibility and patriotism. Ishaku wished President Buhari and members of the immediate family of the late Chief of Staff the fortitude to bear this loss and also prayed for the repose of the soul of Abba Kyari.

The VSF team at the office of the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Arch. Darius Dickson Ishaku, on a courtesy visit before heading to the warehouse where the donated relief materials will be officially handed over. Amb. John Gana, Secretary to the VSF Committee & Mrs. Toyosi Rise, led the discussions with Mr. Anthony Jellason, the Secretary to the State Government. #VSFCovid19Intervention #VSFNigeria

Taraba state governor, Darius Ishaku, Tuesday said boundary demarcation between Taraba and Benue states would end the lingering crisis between Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups. Ishaku, who spoke to Blueprint through his senior special adviser on media and publicity, Mr. Bala Dan Abu, during an exclusive interview in Jalingo said his administration since assumption of office has done its best to ensure that the two tribe live in peace with one another. He stressed that the government of Taraba and Benue states have severallly signed peace accord to end violent clashes between the Tivs and the Jukuns. “Since I became the governor of Taraba state, I have met with my Benue state counterpart, Governor Samuel Orton and signed peace accord to end violent clashes between the two ethic group. But I wonder why at the end, violence still persists,” he said. He explained that within the shortest period of time, his administration has succeeded in resolving all security challenges confron...

At last, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to cushion the hardship necessitated by the lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has commenced in Taraba State. The payment, which started yesterday in 12 of the 16 councils of the state, according to the Payment Monitoring Officer, Fentiriman Jauro, will reach all the councils. For effective implementation, the exercise, which is taking place at the various wards of the benefiting councils, is being monitored by an official of the National Cash Transfer Office, Abuja; State Focal Person; and officials of State Cash Transfer as well as media practitioners. Councils presently benefitting from the payment include Takum, Ussa, Wukari, Ibi, Sarduana, Gashaka, Bali, Gassol, Ardo-Kola, Lau, Yorro and Karim Lamido. The monitoring officer expressed satisfaction with the exercise, as “it is going as expected.”In a related development, the COVID-19 task force of Victims Support Fund (VSF) has delivered food and m...

Taraba Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku on Tuesday berated Mr. Benjamin Bako the self acclaimed President of the Jukun Development Association over his continuous attacks on his government. Bako who claimed to be President of the Jukun Development Association has been attacking the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku since 2015. The latest of his attacks came on Monday when he addressed a press conference in lagos and accused the governor of abandoning his kinsmen (the Jukuns) while they are being killed on a daily basis. Bako had during the press conference on Monday also passed a vote of no confidence on the governor, asking him to within seven days withdraw the appointments given to Tiv indiginous tribe of the state. But reacting to the allegations in a statement by his Special Adviser on media and publicity Bala Dan Abu, governor Ishaku described the allegations as baseless coming from somebody who resides in lagos and has a shallow knowledge of the happening...

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday evening said that the renewed communal clash in Taraba State was disturbing. President Buhari who condemned the latest ethnic violence in the state which left a large number of people dead said that violence was never the option to settle disputes. Reacting to the incident, Buhari said that “I am deeply disturbed by the resort to violence over disagreements that could be resolved through dialogue.” President Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said: “these frequent incidents of ethnic and communal violence is a failure of community leadership and the refusal to embrace dialogue as a means of conflict resolution.” He explained that “disagreements over lands or fishing ponds shouldn’t be allowed to degenerate into violence and destruction of life and prosperity.” The President said that “violence has never settled any problem and, on the contrary, it makes a bad situatio...