Tension in Wukari as Youths protest killing of Okada rider

By: Charles Akpeji

Tensions are again confirmed to be running high in Wukari local government council of Taraba State over the alleged gruesome killing of a motorcycle operator.

The tensions began when the body of the brutally murdered okada operator who was identified as Friday Isaac John was recovered in Gidan Idi village of the council on Sunday.

Family members of the victim said the incident occurred on Sunday when the suspects asked the victim to take them somewhere on his bike.

Wondering why the suspects ended up killing him on their way, the need for the state government, security operatives, and the leadership of the council, to assist the family in bringing the perpetrators to book, they said, has become necessary.

The suspects were said to have run out of luck when attempting to sell the motorbike of their victims in Wukari, the administrative headquarters of Wukari council.

The local okada riders, who also spoke with our state Guardian News through a telephone, said permanent peace in the area will only be achieved when the suspects in police custody are immediately brought to justice.

The council chairman, Agbu Samaila Dauda, said there was tension in Wukari town but a swift intervention has doused the situation.

“it’s true an okada man was killed by two itulu boys and the boys were apprehended by soldiers in Wukari,” Dauda said.

“As a matter of fact when the news of the killing of the young okada man spread round the town, there was tension.


“The okada people who followed the army to the bush and retrieved the corpse of the deceased are demanding that the two Itulu boys must be released to them to also kill them.”

A police officer in Wukari division said plans to transfer the suspects to the command’s headquarters, in Jalingo, the state capital, have been concluded.

He assured the people of the council that the police would leave no stone unturned to ensure justice for the family members of the victim and the people of the council.