Taraba community allege harassment by monarch, demand govt action

Residents of Kwararafa Chiefdom in Gassol local government council of Taraba State have called on the state governor, Agbu Kefas to urgently intervene and stop the Chief of Gassol, Idris Chiroma from allegedly using security forces and the courts to harass them.

Making the call in a protest held over the weekend in Kwararafa, the community alleged that the Gassol Chief, whose authority they claim does not extend to Kwararafa, has been employing the police, security operatives, and the judiciary to intimidate the residents.

Speaking during the protest, the group’s spokesperson, Kefas Sabo, alleged that cases of police harassment, arrests, and detentions worsened after the Chief’s younger brother was elected to the House of Representatives in 2023, representing the Gassol and Bali constituencies.

According to the protesters, the monarch in question has been uncomfortable with the creation of Kwararafa Chiefdom by former governor Darius Ishaku in 2018.

The protesters further claimed that the Chief had filed three lawsuits against the formation of the chiefdom, all of which were ruled in favour of Kwararafa.

Kwararafa, as observed by our reporter, was one of the 47 chiefdoms created under the 2018 Taraba State Chieftaincy Amendment Law.

The chiefdom includes several villages including, Tella, Dobeli, Dissol, Takai, and Sabongida to mention but just a few.

Expressing concern over what they described as a “declaration of war” by the Gassol Chief against their community, they said there is a need for the incumbent state governor to wade in and call the monarch to order.

“It is with great bitterness that we inform you that, unlike other newly created chiefdoms who enjoy peaceful coexistence with their mother chiefdoms, our situation has been different because the Chief of Gassol has declared war on our chiefdom, which was legally established,” Sabo said.

In addition to the lawsuits filed against Kwararafa’s creation, the Gassol Chief according to the aggrieved residents, was also alleged to have launched 39 separate legal cases against farmers in the chiefdom.

The protesters also accused some officials from the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs of colluding with the Gassol Chief to alter the original map of villages that were transferred from Gassol to form the Kwararafa Chiefdom.

They pleaded with the governor to also prevent the monarch from further encroachment on Kwararafa’s boundaries, which they said were clearly demarcated by law.

When reached for confirmation, the monarch who spoke through one of the elders in Gassol chiefdom, described the allegation as “baseless and false”.

The elder, Senator Ibrahim Goje, said the protesters are not even members of the chiefdom they are claiming to represent.”