To ascertain the cause(s) of the crisis between the Tiv and the Jukun ethnic groups in Taraba State, Governor Darius Ishaku has said that the Tiv must support the judicial commission of inquiry he set up.
The Tiv, led by Sebastian Hon, a barrister, during the inauguration of the commission in Jalingo, signified intention to stay away from the sittings, with the belief that it had been designed to ambush them.
Having passed a vote of no confidence in the commission, they urged the commission to stay proceedings pending the determination of the Tiv case in the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The court and the governor recently summoned the commission, which has been visiting the crisis-affected areas to assess damages occasioned by the crisis.
But Ishaku, whose wife is Tiv, pleaded with Tiv leaders in Benue and Taraba states to assist his administration in the on-going peace initiative in the southern part of Taraba.
He urged the stakeholders in the crisis to take advantage of inter-marriages and other social interactions to resolve their differences. Making the appeal during the wedding of his daughter, Clara, who also married a Tiv man, the governor said giving the much needed help to the commission would go a long way in addressing the bloody crisis, which stunted development.
To those who blamed him for allowing his daughter to marry a Tiv, Ishaku said: “The crisis is not enough reason for me to stop my daughter from marrying the man she loves.”
He was of the view that the union would build a bridge of friendship and understanding between the warring ethnic groups, while urging the Tiv to return to the commission.
According to him, the panel will give them the best platform to state their case. The many years of Tiv and Jukun crisis has claimed many lives, houses and farm produce, compelling prospective investors to relocate from the areas.
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