The Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has called on the federal government to act immediately after raising alarm that terrorists are planing to establish a base in his state.
The Governor raised the alarm on Thursday in Jalingo, the state capital during the signing of the N149bn 2022 budget for the state into law.
Ishaku claimed his allegation is based on credible intelligence while stating that his government will continue to make security issues a matter of priority.
He also warned that any traditional ruler that disobeys his instruction and allows suspicious strangers to settle in their domains risks being removed.
He said, “Security is my priority, and I have talked to the traditional rulers not to allow strangers in their settlement. But the refusal of traditional rulers to heed to my warnings and disobey my command will further make me not hesitate, but remove such a traditional ruler.
“I have credible intelligence that terrorists are trying to set up a camp in Taraba. The traditional rulers have a responsibility to report any suspicious movement and expose the plans of the terrorists to camp in their domain.”
Recall that the Governor had on Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
Revealing the details of his meeting with the President during an interview with Channels TV, Governor Ishaku said he requested assistance from the federal government to tackle security and other developmental issues in the state.
Ishaku said he told the President that the establishment of permanent military bases along Taraba’s border with Cameroon is the only solution to the killing of innocent Nigerians by Ambazonia militants.
The governor added that the permanent stationing of troops along the border will stop the militants from regularly entering communities in Taraba and killing unarmed civilians.
Ishaku said that the President was sympathetic to the killings happening in the state, adding that the President’s response to the solution he proposed gave him hope.
