'Council boss hired us to kidnap, kill Taraba lawmaker'

The confession by a suspected kidnapper, arrested by the Taraba State Police Command on Friday, has put to rest mystery surrounding the abduction and murder of  Taraba lawmaker, Honourable Hosea Ibi, representing Takum II in Taraba State House of Assembly on January 14th, 2018.

Ibi was abducted on December 30, 2017 and
murdered on January, 14, 2018. He was believed to have been murdered 11 days after his abduction. This was after the kidnappers had collected N25million ransom.

Many, including Ibi’s aged mother and Barrister Fyafa Hosea Ibi, the deceased’s wife, all felt the deceased abduction and murder were political.

The cat was let out of the bag when Aondoungwa Hindi, one of the three suspects arrested in connection with the crime, confessed that Chairman of Takum Local Government Area, Mr. Tikari Shiban hired them to kidnap and kill the lawmaker.

Hindi, while fielding questions from journalists, admitted that he was among those that abducted the lawmaker from his mother's compound in Takum on December 30, 2017.

Hindi disclosed that before the on operation on December 30, Shiban had earlier discussed with members of the gang, some still at large, on how to perfect the abduction.

He said he was later invited by one Terkura still at large and informed that they would use his motorcycle for the abduction.

The suspect further narrated that he and Terkura, in company of two others, who were Shiban’s boys, went to the lawmaker’s mother’s house located in the army barracks area of Takum at about 8:30pm.

He said that Terkura and other boys, whose names he didn’t know, abducted the lawmaker at gunpoint.
According Hindi, he conveyed Ibi and Terkura on his motorbike to Terkura’s house.
He also said that they were working with Shiban who had asked them to kidnap Ibi so that he could use the ransom paid, to fight invading Fulani herdsmen.

The suspect further said: "It was the Chairman of Takum, Hon Tikari Shiban, who asked us to take Hon Hosea so that he would collect money and buy arms to fight Fulani
herdsmen so that they wouldn’t come and burn his house. We went there with two of his boys. I carried the honourable on my motorcycle with my friend who sat at the back. I saw the chairman when he brought food. He also came and collected the money that was paid
for the release of the lawmaker. Shiban said he would settle us after fighting the Fulani herdsmen, but he didn’t give me anything.”

Speaking further, the suspect, whose role was to ride the kidnapped Assembly member to Terkura’s house, stated: “The chairman told us that we shouldn’t let anyone to know that he came there. A week after payment of the ransom, Mr. Shiban came to tell us to  carry the victim to Kashimbila road and kill him. We dropped his corpse by the road so that people would think that it was Fulani men that killed him.”

After the confessions of Hindi, New Telegraph sought to know the whereabouts of Shiban. The state Commissioner of police Mr. David Akinremi, said that the command might not act on the confessional statement from the suspects since it was not made during police interrogation.

New Telegraph findings revealed that seven days after the suspect had publicly confessed Shiban masterminded and sponsored the kidnap; police have refused to invite Shiban for questioning.

This has heightened tension in Takum Local Government Area as families of the slain lawmaker, who are from Kuteb tribe are demanding for the arrest and prosecution of those connected to the crime.

The lawmaker’s widow said that since the suspect mentioned Shiban, the police must do justice by
arresting and prosecuting him.

She added: “Tell the authority and the police that we are demanding for justice as we look forward to the arrest and prosecution of all those connected with the killing of my husband.”
Investigation by New Telegraph revealed that there had been political rivalry between the Kuteb tribe where the late lawmaker hails from and the Jukun, where Shiban comes from.

Many Kuteb tribe who spoke with our correspondent, have described the murder of Ibi as a deliberate effort by the Jukuns to annihilate the Kuteb tribes from the political arrangement in Takum Local Government.

An accusation which a very prominent politician of Jukun extraction from Takum had debunked, saying the murder of the lawmaker had nothing to do with annihilation of Kutebs from Takum Local Government or political arrangement of the Local Government.

The Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, on January 16, warned residents of Takum against blaming any ethnic group for the death of Ibi, who is also an indigene of Takum.

According the Governor, Ibi’s murder was a criminal act that was unacceptable to any ethnic group. “I have warned people against attacking anybody or any tribe because this is not about tribe. Don’t go and say that they attacked a Jukun or Kuteb and you are going to retaliate. It is purely a criminal act that would be handled by appropriate authority; so do not bring more problems to us because we already have many to deal with.”

When Shiban was contacted on phone  to hear his side of the story, he said that he was sick and on admission in a hospital at Gboko, Benue State.
New Telegraph