Nasarawa Governor Sacks Two Traditional Rulers Over Chieftaincy Crisis

Rabiu Omaku

Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, has disbanded two traditional rulers from Udege Mbeki—Odu and Mararaba Udege—in Nasarawa Local Government Area over their alleged roles in a chieftaincy crisis that led to widespread violence, including the burning of houses, destruction of farm produce, and loss of lives.

During a visit to the affected villages, which were left deserted following the conflict, Governor Sule announced the Government’s decision to revoke the status of the implicated traditional rulers.

He declared that they would no longer be recognized by the State and would have no legal authority over their communities.

To further escalate tensions, the Governor ordered the banishment of the contending families from Odu and Embu from exercising control over Mararaba.

He also announced plans to appoint an administrator to oversee peace efforts and facilitate conflict resolution in the area.

Speaking to journalists, Governor Sule recalled that the crisis, which began about three years ago, stemmed from a dispute over a chieftaincy title and the ownership of the town.

He emphasized that various efforts, including engaging key stakeholders from the affected communities, had been made to resolve the conflict but to no avail.

“They have formed their own committees, they have tried everything in the past to bring the situation under control, in addition, We also appointed our own committee which was chaired by the Emir of Kashi, they spend a lot of time and come out with a recommendation on the way forward.

“It was at the process of looking at the recommendation that the problem erupted and escalated to where we are today. I have already met with all the concern groups, but today I have come to see the level of destruction and calm the people down.

“As a government, I know what to do and one of my decision is to announce that the two factional leaders that we have, they are no longer leaders and we have disbanded them, we decided that we are going to set up an administrative committee which is going to be chaired by ex-service man who understands what it’s takes to go through this, and we are going to take two people each from the two factions and they will assist the administrator to come out with lasting solutions.

“But in the meantime, we have to find ways to support those whose houses were burnt , whose families were killed, that is the reason why we came with the two ministries that are in charge of Humanitarian and Women Affairs so that they can take some kind of estimate of what happen for us to assist the people who have been attacked” he said.

“As a government, we have to take a decision for the peace of the land. We cannot allow things to continue the way they are. We decided that as far as government is concerned, none of the two contending houses would be recognized as in control of Mararaba in Udege Development Area.

“We are going to appoint an administrator in that particular area who would assist the government to come up with the final solutions,’ he stated.

While appealing to the warring factions to sheath their swords and to give peace a chance, especially with current developments in Udege, with mining activities taking centre stage, he said the decision taken by his administration is based on the various reports submitted in the collective efforts to end the mayhem in Udege.