Taraba community protests alleged harassment by monarch

The protesters alleged they were being coerced to pay royalties on their farmlands and ponds

The people of Kwararafa chiefdom in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State on Saturday held a protest against alleged harassment by the traditional ruler of Gassol, Idi Chiroma.

The protesters alleged that Mr Chiroma was coercing them to pay him royalties on farmlands and ponds, even when they were not under his chiefdom.

They appealed to Governor Agbu Kefas, to stop Mr Chiroma from meddling in the affairs of Kwararafa chiefdom.

Some of their placards read: “Idi Chiroma must leave our land,” “Governor Kefas, stop Chiroma from harassing and intimidating our farmers”, and “Enough is enough of court intimidation, police arrest and detention of Kwararafa farmers.”

The spokesperson of the chiefdom, Kefas Sabo, said Kwararafa chiefdom was created by law from the Gassol chiefdom.

“Kwararafa was one of the 47 chiefdoms created by the former governor Darius Ishaku, in 2018, under the Taraba State chieftaincy amendment law 2018, enacted by the Taraba State House of Assembly.

“The villages of Tella, Dobeli, Dissol, Takai, Sabon gida, Tunga anguli, Dinya, Nafuche, Yaku cholo, Gidan kussa, Nanguru, Yaku shamaki, Madani, Yaku Baba, Yaku Magaji and Garko were all carved out of Gassol chiefdom to form the Kwararafa chiefdom.

“Unlike all other newly created chiefdoms, who have been enjoying peace and harmonious co-existence with their mother chiefdoms, Chiroma, the chief of Gassol, has declared war against the people of Kwararafa chiefdom,” Mr Sabo said.

He said shortly after the creation of the chiefdom, Mr Chiroma instituted three suits in the Jalingo High Court opposing the creation, which he lost

He said Mr Chiroma also filed 39 other cases in various courts in the state against the peasant farmers of Kwararafa chiefdom.

“The chief of Gassol has used the police and courts to harass, intimidate, arrest and detain over 30 farmers from different villages under Kwararafa chiefdom, claiming that those villages fall under his administrative domain.

“The detention became worse from 2023 after his younger brother, Yakubu Chiroma, was elected into the House of Representatives to represent the people of Gassol and Bali,” Mr Sabo said.

He alleged that Mr Chiroma colluded with officials of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to distort the original map of the villages carved out of Gassol chiefdom.

“We, therefore call on the state governor Agbu Kefas to restrain the chief of Gassol from encroaching into the villages under the Kwararafa chiefdom and to stop him from the reckless use of the police and courts to harass, intimidate, arrest and detention of innocent farmers.”

When contacted for his reaction to the allegations, Mr Chiroma asked PREMIUM TIMES to speak with Ibrahim Goje, a former senator and an elder in Gassol, on the matter.

However, Mr Goje dismissed the allegations of the protesters.

According to him, the villages the protesters are claiming are not in their chiefdom.

“We are going to debunk all the baseless allegations on the chief of Gassol. The law that created the new chiefdoms allocated villages to them,” Mr Goje said.