10 Arrest of 39 suspected Cameroonian militia sparks fears in Taraba town
The arrest of 39 suspected members of a militia group in Nguroje town of Sardauna local government area of Taraba State about three weeks ago has continued to heighten tension in the Mambilla Plateau. The area was yet to recover from a recent crisis, which claimed several lives and destruction of property. So, the arrival of the strange men was a serious cause for concern, leading speculation on the mission of the people, alleged to be from Cameroon.
A resident of the area, Malam Garba Haruna, said “We became suspicious because all the 39 men were accommodated in one house belonging to a lady called Madam Panso.” He said the suspects always play football at the Government Day Secondary School field in the mornings and evenings. “What made us more suspicious was the kind of training they receive mostly in the night, and in the forest close to the secondary school.”
Haruna said Madam Panso was confronted, and she claimed they were refugees from Southern Cameroon. “However, when the men spent up to two weeks in that house and we did not see any security man around we decided to report them to the army,” he said. He added that they discovered that 34 of the suspects were Cameroonians, while 5 were from the Niger Delta and were the ones offering military training to the rest.
Another resident, Malam Tanimu said
For close to six months, after the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, elevated eight High Chiefs to the position of kings in Ibadan land, the Ibadan traditional council has been battling with crisis. Though the governor explained that he installed the new kings to bring more credibility to the traditional institution in the state, many indigenes of Ibadan had argued that the process through which the new kings emerged was wrong. Proper consultation could have been made by the government, argued some indigenes.
The new kings recently issued a 21-day ultimatum to Olubadan to have a rethink but however, the crisis took another dimension before the leaders and elders in Ibadan intervened to ensure that the crisis ends.
Although the Olubadan and Governor Ajimobi had met severally after the installation of the new kings, there has not been any amicable resolution until the eldest wife of the monarch died in December 2017.
Following the death of Chief Mrs Kudirat Aduke Adetunji, their suspicion rose from the fact that “The first batch of refugees that came to Gembu from Southern Cameroon were made up of men, women and children but in this case all of them were able-bodied men. Even the desk officer of the State Emergency Management Agency is not aware of their stay in Nguroje.”
“Our fear was that the group might be a militia group receiving training, which was why every member of the community was at alert,” he said.
Another source told Daily Trust that the group may likely be members of the separatist groups fighting for secession in Cameroon since there were indications that most of them were from Southern Cameroon. Findings revealed that the porous nature of the Nigerian border in the Mambilla Plateau has enabled many people from Cameroon to cross into Nigeria with ease.
Police spokesman of the Taraba Police Command, ASP David Misal, confirmed the arrest of 39 foreigners at Nguroje. He said on interrogation, the suspects claimed to be refugees from Southern Cameroon, who fled the crisis going on there. According to him, no incriminating item was found on the suspects.
ASP Misal said that the woman who kept them in her house was also arrested and is being questioned on the mission of the men in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Acting Chairman of Sardauna Local Government, Rev. Godwin Sol, said the suspects, who claimed to be Governor Ajimobi paid the Olubadan a condolence visit. After that, the newly elevated kings also paid condolence visits from Bamenda in Cameroun, did not notify the council of their coming. He expressed surprise on why the strange men decided to go Nguroje instead of stopping to the monarch. As a result of their moves, the apex sociocultural organization in Ibadan, the Central Council of Ibadan in Gembu where there was an existing camp for refugees, adding that their action raised doubts. He said it was not only suspicious, but illegal too. Indigenes, intervened in the crisis and said it was confident that the lingering chieftaincy dispute triggered by the installation of 21 new obas by the Oyo State government will soon be settled out of court.
The president of the CCII, Chief Yemi Soladoye, shortly after leading a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to a meeting with Governor Abiola Ajimobi, was upbeat that an amicable resolution was in the offing. He said, “We are happy that all the stakeholders in the matter have seen the need to embrace peace. Judging by the progress we have made so far in the TRC, I can assure you that the matter will soon be settled out of court judging by the cooperation and enthusiasm of the parties.”
“We have extracted a firm promise from those concerned on the need to withdraw all the court cases in the overall interest of Ibadan land. We are doing everything possible not to jeopardize the reconciliation process, hence all the stakeholders have been included in the TRC.”
To confirm the cooperation of both sides, the spokesperson of the heads of families in Ibadan, known as Mogaji, Chief Wale Oladoja, confirmed that reconciliatory move are on. He said a meeting of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) convened by a prominent Ibadan elder, Dr. Lekan Are, had set the ball rolling in a way “that the pride and dignity surrounding the Obaship crisis in Ibadan land will be amicably resolved within the shortest time possible.”
Oladoja said the Reconciliation Committee has Chief Are as chairman while the President General of the CCII, Chief Yemi Soladoye, would serve as the Coordinator. The Authentic Mogajis like Alhaji Abass Oloko (Mogaji Oloko), Chief Abduljelyl Karheem (Mogaji Adanla), Alhaji Moshud Gbolagade (Mogaji Akere), Alhaji Ademola Oladosu (Mogaji Olasomi) are members of the reconciliation committee.
Also listed are a former Military Administrator of Lagos State, General Raji Rasaki (Rtd); a former Commissioner for Information and CCII chieftain, Chief Adegboyega Arulogun; Primate Ola Makinde; the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland; Alhaji Dauda Makanjuola; Prof. Adeola Adeyemi; Chief Lere Adigun; Dr. Kunle Oyedele and other eminent elders in Ibadan. The maiden meeting, according to Oladoja, was held last Thursday and had all the aforementioned in attendance.
If the issue is finally put to rest, will the newly elevated maintain their crown as kings or go back as High Chiefs? These are some of the questions begging for answers.