NEWS
Tension in Taraba Communities as Returning IDPs Are Chased Away
From Christiana Babayo, Jalingo
Tension and fear has continued to torment residents, as the Jukun/Tiv crisis in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State which seemed to have died off for sometime now, is slowly resurfacing.
Some locals in the area who spoke with our Correspondent disclosed that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who fled their homes during the crisis had begun to return home since the crisis has ceased, but the decision does not go down well with the Local authorities in the area who are determined to see that the returning IDPs turned back to the various places they had been taking refuge for almost four years now.
Mr.
Aondosoo Earnest Tyolaha who hails from Tor-Iorshaer Village, along Wukari Rafinka Road, about 15km away from Wukari, lamented that in the early hours of Thursday, January 12, some Jukun youth who claimed to have been directed by the chairman of the council came in large numbers and destroyed all the bricks that he had laid to construct a thatch house where he would put his head during raining seasons.Another victim of the situation, one Mr Terfa Akombo who identified himself as a peasant farmer from Daa Village, along Wukari Tsukundi Road said they were begining to understand that some strange faces had started building and occupying their forefathers ancestral homes.
He added that their economic trees had been cut off even as the graves of their ancestors exhumed.
Another Internally Displaced Person, also from Tor-Iorshaer Village of Rafinkada Ward, Wukari Local Government Area, Mr. Suega Iorshagher, narrated that “since we came back to reclaim our ancestral homes, we kept receiving threats from our Jukun brothers.
“We pray God to speak to all the authorities to understand that crisis does not benefit any one and anywhere there is crisis, no one is safe. Peace is sacrosanct for any meaningful progress but if the local authorities consider crisis as the best way to go, it is really quite unfortunate”. He said.
The returning IDPs however, noted that all the issues had been reported to security agencies who promised to look into it.
Meanwhile all efforts by our Correspondent to reach out to the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Council, Hon Daniel Adigrace proved abortive, as he could not pick the several calls or respond to the text message put up on his phone.
However, some of the community leaders who interacted with him as a result of the growing tension in the area reported that he had asked them to instruct the people to return back to their IDP camps.
Recall that the Executive Governor of the State, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku had long declared cease fire and has asked the IDPs who had been taking refuge in the neighbouring villages and surrounding states since
April 1, 2019 to return home.
NEWS
Board Sanctions 118 Immigration, Civil Defence Officers
The Board of NSCDC, Fire Service, Correctional, and Immigration Service, has approved the sanction of 118 personnel for various offences.
The Board Chairman, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made this known at the end of their meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo, who is also the Minister of Interior, told newsmen through the board Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Ja’afaru, that the erring officers were punished after facing disciplinary panels for various offences.
“These offences range from misconduct, negligence of duty and outright absence from duty posts.
“In the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCOs), there were 48 cases of offences, in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), there were 21 cases.
“Also, in the Federal Fire Service (FFS) there were 12 cases while in the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), there were 37 cases,“the minister said.
Tunji-Ojo added that the board has reviewed and approved new guidelines for appointments, promotions, discipline and general purpose in the services.
He said that the board also considered and approved the timeline for the conduct of the 2024 promotion exercise in the four services.
“The board considered and approved the review timeline for the conduct of the 2023/2024 fire service recruitment.
“As for the ongoing recruitment in the fire service, we hope to publish the names of the successful applicants latest by June 15. That is where we are for now.
“We also want to use this medium to warn the general public to ignore whatever they have been seeing or hearing in the social media space as they did not emanate from the board.
“This is because, we have come to realise that the social media world had been awashed with fake news telling applicants to come for screening exercise or pay certain amount of money.
“Let me put it emphatically that the board is not asking anyone to pay money for recruitment.“
He urged applicants to be patient, saying successful candidates will be notified to come for further screening through their emails and mobile lines. (NAN)
NEWS
NSCDC Inaugurates Female Strike Force to Secure FCT Schools
The FCT Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr Olusola Odumosu, has inaugurated the corps Female Strike Force to protect schools in the territory.
A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Samuel Idoko, on Thursday in Abuja, said the inauguration followed the completion of a three day training for the personnel.
Odumosu said that the primary responsibility of the strike force was to ensure the safety of all schools in the territory.
He said that the training had equipped them with the needed skills and capabilities to carry out their duties.
According to him, the training is a follow up to the recent meeting of all FSF Unit Commanders with the Commandant General, Ahmed Audi.
Audi had charged them to be up and doing in view of the reported cases of kidnapping in some parts of the country.
“The training is imperative to ensure compliance with the CG’s directive on the mandate of securing schools for the safety of students and staff.
“Cases of abduction in schools must come to an end, that is the primary purpose of this training.
“We need to restore the confidence of the people in our ability to secure schools in the FCT,” the commandant said.
He therefore called on schools in the FCT to register with the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre, so that they could be added to the ecosystem.
Odumosu explained that the registration was free and meant to ensure better coordination and make responses to emergencies more quicker and efficient.
Odumosu assured that the training and retraining of the personnel would be held regularly to ensure prompt response to any security threat.
“We must make schools safe haven once again for children,” he added.
He charged the female strike force to conduct routine patrol and surveillance of schools to prevent threats and attacks.
He also enjoined the strike force to hold periodic security awareness and enlightenment talks for student and teachers.
Odumosu also directed the operatives to abide by the corps’ Standard Operational Procedure in discharging their duties and avoid over zealousness in the use of force or fire arms.(NAN)
NEWS
Tinubu Appoints Bello as new Chairman of CCB
President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr Abdullahi Usman Bello as the new Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), pending confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Thursday in Abuja.
Ngelale said that Bello was a consummate professional with more than 25 years of work experience in consulting, banking, law enforcement, financial services and academia.
He said that the President anticipated the new Chairman would lead the Bureau with utmost integrity toward the realization of its mandate of maintaining high standards of public morality in the conduct of government business.
Ngelale said Tinubu expected the new appointee to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of morality and accountability.(NAN)