Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo
A call has been made for President Mohammadu Buhari to resign honourably for the security of the people.
A Director, Connectional Ministries, United Methodist Church in Nigeria Southern Conference, who made the call under condition of anonimity in an exclusive interview with our Correspondent in his office, Lankaviri, while expressing his mind onbm current state of insecurity in Taraba State and the Country at large says, “To be honest, the state of insecurity in Taraba and our dear Country is becoming quite unfortunate and unbearable to the citizens, that nobody is secured in the Country”.
“The state of insecurity in the country is terrible to the stage that President Mohammadu Buhari has lost direction”
“President Mohammadu Buhari should resign due to age which is not on his sight and his inability to tackle the insecurity in the country”
“Nobody security is guarantee, Nobody is safe, let President Mohammadu Buhari handover to a capable hands”
On the state of insecurity in Taraba State especially Jalingo the state capital, he said:
“The situation is quite unfortunate. Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku brought a good decision of engaging local hunters, this drastically reduced the rate of Kidnnapings and armed bandtry, but we dont know what happened, for the kidnnapings is resurfacing again in weeks back of recent is that of Uche Obi”
“The whole issue baunce back on the security operatives. If kidnnapers can come into Jalingo and operate freely and go back without the security arresting any of them, I think the security achitecture should be restructured”
He appeal to Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku to revisit his earlier decision of engaging local hunters in fighting insecurity in the state to enable people move and go to their farms freely.
“People no longer move and go to sleep and farms freely”.
He advised the state government to motivate security operatives to enable them protect the people.
“As a religious leader, I advise that security operatives should be motivated and if there are bad eggs amongst them, they should be fished out”
“The government should checkmate them and boost their moral”
” To the Federal Government, I advise that President Mohammadu Buhari should resign and the Security architecture should be restructured”
” The Federal Government should be honest in all it’s dealings, for they are saddle with the responsibility of securing Nigerians”
“Some terrorists are released and engage into Nigeria Army, this is very unfortunate” – he added.
Jalingo the state capital has for the past few weeks witnessed sporadic gunshots, shortly after that, reports of Kidnnapings, attempted kidnnapings and killing of innocent Tarabans were adopted.
Two residents of Gulum area of Jalingo were adopted and another two again the following day in the same area, without security operatives doing anything to arrest the situation.
As the residents of Gulum were crying on their lives, the State Vice Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, Barr. Zainab Kishimi was whisked out of her residence, still the securities did nothing to defend the woman.
Similarly families of those adoptees where putting heads together for the release of their family members, another gunmen stormed the resident of a respectful Taraban, the Provost College of Education Zing, Mike Dio Jen to either kidnnap or assassinate him as was reported.
They met with strong resistance who was not a police man but later sacrifice his life for the safety of the Provost.
According to a eye withness report, there was exchange of gunshots between the gunmen and the Security guard for almost an hour without the intervention of the security, despite the closeness of Area Command of Nigeria Police.
The police only drove to the scene of the incident after the operation is over.
Another report says similar incident happened when a local vigilante was killed in the course of his duty in Mayo Dassa in the same week.
The security woeful failure to trouble scene has given suspected kidnnapers and hoodlums field days over their victims.
Withen the same week a Taraba based millionaire Chief Uche Obi, was kidnnaped and later regained his freedom after five days in the hands of his adaptors.
Chief Uche Obi while narrating his ordeal to journalist on Saturday in Jalingo, accused Sani Danladi of sponsoring police from the police headquarters Abuja to carry out what he described as “criminal act”
“Since Wednesday last week.i discovered strange people that were trailing me, I went to the gym that very day in the evening, I saw one black Hilux Jeep parked beside my car, I was watching to see who will come out from the Jeep but the people did not come out, I decided to leave the car and take another dimension”
“The next day which was Thursday, after taking stock of my businesses, as I was heading home, I discovered a white Hilux with tinted glasses parked close to my gate, I diverted to another direction again”
“On Friday, when I was in my office with my customers, a friend of mine came and excused my customers that he wanted to talk to me in private, when I granted him audience, he told me that he heard some people in a restaurant where he was eating saying they are policemen from Abuja, that they came down to Jalingo to arrest me, the people said they have already obtained a court warrant”
“When I heard the story, there was nothing I could do than to run for my life, that was when I ran to the police headquarters here in Jalingo and reported to the commissioner of police, I also enquired from him if there was an official information for my arrest on his table but the commissioner told me point blank that he was not aware of any such development, he, therefore, referred me to his Deputy Commissioner, the DC himself denied any Knowledge of warrant of arrest on me”
“When I came back from the police on Friday, the next day being Saturday I decided to stay indoors so that whatever wants to happen to me will happen in my room, as I was reflecting over the incident, I discovered that since 1989, I came to Jalingo, I had no problem with anybody apart from Sani Abubaka Danladi, the former Acting Governor of Taraba state”
“Only recently I had problems with Sani Abubaka Danladi, we had an issue in the court, I then decided to call the younger brother to Sani and get information from him but the younger brother promptly told me that his elder brother can not petition me or send people after my life, I then called my brother by name Okechukwu, I told him that I have no problem with anybody here in the state apart from Sani Danladi but this is what has been happening within some few days ago”
“When Okechukwu called Danladi, he, first of all, denied that he is not behind any petition against me and he did not send anybody against me.
But that same day around 2:pm, some people started calling me that they are policemen, that they came from Abuja Force Headquarters, that they learnt I went to the commissioner of police claiming that their coming to Jalingo was illegal, that I should come to the Jalingo police headquarters and they will prove to me they are in Jalingo not on illegal duty, they insisted to know when am leaving my house”
“I suspected something wrong and i said they should go and invite me at the Force Headquarters not in Jalingo, that was when I forwarded their number to my brother Okechukwu, my brother then used the number and forwarded it to one of the DIGs in Abuja, the DIG called the number on several occasions but none of the acclaimed policemen picked”
“Okechukwu called me that the DIG is calling them but they are not picking, the said policemen called me once again, I then asked them to pick the call that has been coming to their phone, I revealed to them that the number calling their phone is form one of the DIGs in Abuja”
“That was how we ended our call with them that Saturday, late in the night, my wife gave me her phone that my brother Okechukwu was calling and that he wanted to talk to me, when I picked the phone call, OkeChukwu told me that is just now that he discovered that the person who wrote the petition against me was Sani Danladi”
“Okechukwu then told me that Sani Danladi just called him (Okechukwu) that me Uche Obi is proving stubborn and he (Sani Danladi) is going to show to me that if I know five DIGs himself knows more than fifty DIGs and the IG himself, that as he was speaking to Okechukwu, his men have already surrounded my house, that was when Okechukwu advised me to at least find my way out of my house for that night”
“Okechukwu said the way Sani called him and was vibrating, he knew I would not be safe if I fall into their hands,that there will be trouble”
“On reaching my gate, as I stepped out, I discovered the same Black Hilux that followed me on Wednesday on one side while the White Hilux was by the other side, a voice came from the bush that Hei, stop there or I shoot you, some men came from the bush and picked me and threw me at the back of the White Hilux.”
“To my surprise, when they took me to one house, they came and loosened the rope that they tired my hands with, they brought one paper that I should sign, that was when I asked them why they giving me paper to sign without losing my eyes to see what am signing, they shouted at me that at this point I must obey whatever they say, I sign the document with my eyes blindfolded.
“After I was released, I open my eyes and only to see myself under Donga bridge. I took Keke Napep to my house, after staying there for five days”.
The state police command has continued to insinuate that the police was on top of the situation.
Because of the failure of the Nigerian Police, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku in his quest to protect his people, had to employ the services of local vigilante and hunters which yielded positive results as some of the hoodlums and kidnnapers were dislodged from their hideouts while most of them massacred. Activities of the hoodlums and kidnnapers were decimated which gives residents of Jalingo cool sleep for some months.
Some are of the opinion that if the Nigerian Police still failed in protecting it’s citizens, then the citizens have no choice but to rise up and defend themselves before they could be slaughtered like chickens in their houses.
The suggestion of a retired General and bussiness mogul, Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma has come to play.
During a convocation ceremony of Taraba State University some years ago, he called on people to raise up and defend themselves which did not go well with the Federal Government.
He publicly warned on March 24th, 2018 saying:
“The bandits are amongst us, they collud with armed forces. We must defend ourselves, they will come after us and kill us one after another”
He came further publicly in December 2019 saying:
“There are untold stories that if revealed, Nigerians will no longer sleep”
People all know it is so unsual for the man in question to make such aulterance, but do we continue to live in fear of been killed or made slave in their land?
The General have said it all and there is nothing to more to say that goes reality, else, who would believe that Nigeria does not posses the Military capacity to dislodged terrorists and insurgency until this time.
The case of Wadume the kidnnaper that escape under the protection of some bad eggs in the army.
In his response, the Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal describe the situation as unfortunate, but wondered why the public are not appreciating the efforts of the police.
“The police attempted kidnnapings last week which the kidnnapers escape with injuries”
He said attempt was made by the police for the kidnnaping of the Provost College of Education Zing, Mike Dio Jen, but failed.
“I want to put the record straight that the security man that engage the hoodlums in the house of the Provost was a police man. The hoodlums were heated by the bullet of a police man”
“The Provost came out and appreciated the police that came quickly to respond to the act”
He denied that the police did not responded to incidents in Gulum area.
“It is not true that the police did not responded during the incident”
He said that for the past week there has been no case of Kidnnapings due to the steps taking by the police.
He urged members of the public to always inform the security agents of any suspicious movements before an incident could happen.
” We have given distress call number to the public and I am still giving the number 08140089863, I appeal to the public to always call the number when in distress”.
Nasarawa Reporters 