From: Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The elders of Sansani Community in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State have petitioned the Governor Darius Ishaku over the excesses of the Lamdo Gossol, Alhaji Idris Yakubu Chiroma.
In a forty-one paged document signed by 16 elders, and copied to the Speaker of the state Assembly, security establishments in the state, political leaders in the council and traditional rulers, the petitioners alleged that the actions of the Lamdo were capable of precipitating great crisis in the council as they were already causing untold hardship on the people.
The petitioners alleged that the Lamdo, who ascended the throne over 10 years ago, had subjected the people to untold hardships and is highly committed to causing disaffection among his subjects for his selfish gains, rather than working to foster peace and unity in his chiefdom.
According to the petition, Lamdo Chiroma, a Third Class Chief, is “promoting indiscipline and disrespect to constituted authorities by pitching the village heads against District heads” and has repeatedly caused clashes through “forceful confiscation of fertile lands and fishing ponds belonging to peasant farmers for himself, leaving the peasants without a means of livelihood”.
The petition allege that the animosity of the Lamdo towards the District Head of Sansani Alhaji Abdulmutallib Nuhu specifically and the people of the district generally is not unconnected to the fact that Nuhu had defeated his favoured candidate to become the District head while he also considers the people as migrants from Jibu in the old Kwararafa Kingdom to the present location.
Part of the allegations was that last year, the district head of Sansani Nuhu spent over half a million Naira to prepare a piece of land for cultivation, only for the Lamdo to send people to plant his own Maize on the land without even consulting the district head Nuhu, while a similar incident a fortnight ago almost resulted into an outright breakdown of law and order when the Lamdo again sent his guards to go and plant rice of a vast land belonging to and prepared by about seven peasant farmers at Sarkin Dukku in the district.
The petitioners also accused Lamdo Chiroma of forcefully taking land from the community and selling it to ‘strange Fulani herdsmen’ who are already stirring unrest in the area despite the Nuhu’s efforts to stop them from settling in the land to avoid a farmers herders crisis.
They also alleged that the Lamdo had “regrettably resorted to mischievously pitting the Tiv people in the area against the rest of the people” in a move that is capable of fuelling tensions and anxiety and consequently, causing civil unrest in their District.”
While wondering why the traditional ruler has such a proclivity to violence, the petitioners alleged that Sansani was not the only District that has come under his impunity, noting that he “recently ignited a commotion over a vast land at Natirde in Sendirde district that left over thirteen persons hospitalised just so that he could impound the land”, and has also forcefully taken over a large fish pond at Kir from the original owners who are currently in court over the case.
The petition prayed the Governor to “as a matter of urgency, depose Lamdo Gassol Idris Yakubu Chiroma and replace him, and make him to return the lands and ponds he has forcefully taken from the people to the original owners as the only way to forestalling an eminent breakdown of law and order in the Chiefdom.
When contacted however, the Lamdo Gassol Idris Yakubu Chiroma said the allegations were all falsehood.
He said the petitioners were disgruntled elements who were bent on causing trouble in the chiefdom and warned that the long arm of the law would not spare any of them.
The document also contained six other petitions against the Lamdo that had been written to various governors in the state earlier and some pictures and letters to back up the petitioners case and for the “governor’s perusal”.
Gassol local government area is one of the most fertile areas in the state with vast lands for rice production and a large collection of fish ponds that supports the major fish markets in the state, providing means of livelihood to thousands of people.