The Nyakwala community, situated in Wukari local government council of Taraba State, has issued an appeal to Governor Agbu Kafas, urging his intervention in the ongoing chieftaincy and land disputes that are currently unsettling the tranquility of the community.
This appeal was formalized in a statement disseminated to the press on Monday in Jalingo.
Expressing their concerns, the community has requested the Governor’s immediate establishment of a high-powered judicial committee of inquiry to reassess the appointment of the chief of Matar-Fada.
Furthermore, they have implored the Governor to instruct the chief of Bantaje to desist from encroaching upon Nyakwala’s land.
The statement, jointly endorsed by community leaders Irimiya Danji Barau and Prince Collins Umar, calls upon the Governor to designate a new district head of Matar-Fada from the Nyakwala community, pending the review of the third-class chief status.
Asserting their rightful claim to the contested traditional stool, they beseech the governor to swiftly intervene, reinstating peace and justice within the community, the council, and the state at large.
The community highlights the contentious appointment of the acting District head of Matar-Fada, subsequently promoted to the third-class Chief, as the focal point of contention, emphasizing that the appointment, made following an 18-year vacancy on the stool, was flawed.
“As a community, we are faced with a number of challenges that tend to threaten the peace and tranquillity of Nyakwala and her environs as a result of the unpopular decisions of the previous government as it affects the chieftaincy stool of Mata-Fada and the boundary demarcation between Nyakwala and Bantaje.”
The community drew the attention of the governor to the alleged fake and false administrative map designed through the alleged conspiracy of the leadership of Bantaje and Matar-Fada, saying the aim was to frustrate the Nyakwala community from reclaiming their traditional stool.
“This map they carry about does not have the approval of the government nor does it have the seal of any government agency, the statement said.
”This false boundary demarcation projected by the chief has posed a serious security threat in our community, our traditional fish ponds have been seized from us and hoodlums entering our farmlands claiming that the entire area which is in Nyakwala in Matar-Fada chiefdom have been carved out to Bantaje chiefdom”.
