Democracy Under Threat in Taraba, APC Lawmaker Alleges

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The APC Senatorial Candidate for the Taraba South Senatorial District of Taraba State , Hon Danjuma Shidi, yesterday  alleged that democracy was under threat over what he described as “ high-handedness in the latest political development in  state”.

Shidi,  who is currently representing Wukari/Ibi Federal constituency of the State in  the National Assembly, stressed that if nothing is not done urgently to address the urgly political development in the state, democracy would be history in Taraba State.

He alleged that in the ongoing  politics of bitterness under the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) controlled state, the Director-General of  his Campaign Organisation, Hon Sumaila Yakubu was brutally abducted by state security agents on trumped-up charges of inciting members of the public to go violent.

“Hon Sumaila, the DG of my campaign organisation  was whisked away in a commando-style operation on Monday by a combined team of  Security operatives  led by the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. He  was severely beaten up with wounds all over his body, stripped naked before being whisked to detention where he still remains till now,” he said.

According to the lawmaker,  “The trumped-up charges cannot be farther from the truth as there were even video recordings of the victim placating the people not to resort to violence over  in the political happenings in Taraba, but allow peace to reign to smoothen out frayed nerves.”

“When the case came up at the State  High Court   Thursday(yesterday), an almost impossible bail condition consisting of a reputable state indigene worth N50 million, two first class- chiefs, and two top civil servants of permanent secretary grade to all stand surety for the detained Hon Sumaila before he could be released,” he said.

He explained that all necessary legal options were already being taken to effect the release of the DG of his campaign organisation, and that the APC at the national level was being kept abreast of the development.  

“If not nipped in the bud, the politics of high-handedness being played by the PDP controlled Taraba State Government led by Gov. Darius Ishaku, has the tendency to derail democracy and make the state to boil.”

“Incidentally, the sitting governor of Taraba State Darius Ishaku that will be ending his second tenure next year is the PDP Senatorial candidate in the state for the same District Hon Shibi is gunning for, thus pitching them together as opponents in the coming  poll,” he added.