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Plateau Peace Building Agency Marks Peace Month With Community Experience Sharing, Hosts Taraba Peace Bureau 

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Plateau Peace Month

The Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PPBA) on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, held a community experience-sharing session in Jos as part of activities to mark Plateau Peace Month 2025. The event, themed “Act Now for a Peaceful Plateau”, brought together community peace structures from Jos North and Jos South alongside a delegation from the newly established Taraba State Bureau for Peace and Conflict Management (TSBPCM).

Welcoming participants, Director General of PPBA, Mrs. Julie Sanda, explained that while the international community dedicates September 21 to the International Day of Peace (IDP), Plateau State has expanded the commemoration into a month-long celebration.

“Peace is too big to be celebrated only in one day. We have dedicated the whole of September to Peace Month to ensure peace is lived daily in our communities,” she said, stressing that communities remain at the heart of PPBA’s interventions.

She highlighted the transition of PARTNER structures — initially introduced under a USAID-Mercy Corps consortium — into the Agency’s Community Peace Architecture Forum (CPAF), a homegrown model designed to strengthen grassroots ownership of peacebuilding.

In their testimonies, peace coordinators from Bible Faith and Rafin Pa in Jos North recalled years of hostility when residents avoided one another’s communities, even for basic services. “We were like cats and dogs,” said Ibrahim Maaji of Rafin Pa. “Today, we not only cross freely but also work together.”

Similarly, Ambassadors Yakubu IC Gam (Gyel) and Isah Abubakar (Bukuru) recounted how persistent dialogue under PARTNER transformed their once-bitter rivalry into a brotherhood. They noted that joint actions by peace committees had successfully prevented violent escalations in their communities.

Women from Bible Faith, Rafin Pa, Gyel, and Bukuru also shared their experiences, emphasizing their role in grassroots peacebuilding. They highlighted initiatives ranging from advocacy and school outreach to a women-led vigilante group that rescued 16 exploited children.

“Before PARTNER, women had no voice in conflict resolution. Today, we are not only participating but also leading actions that save lives,” one participant affirmed.

Chairman of the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network, Mr. Nanmark Bali, commended the agency’s collaboration with civil society and revealed that activities marking this year’s Peace Day include media engagements, interfaith prayers, tree planting, and a women’s novelty football match.

On his part, Bishop Innocent Rubiruka Solomon, Chairman of TSBPCM, praised Plateau State as a model of institutionalized peacebuilding.

“Taraba admires Plateau State. Within just two days, we have learned so much from PPBA’s approaches. These lessons will shape our five-year strategic work plan,” he said, assuring continued partnership between the two states.

The program also featured interactive exchanges, during which participants underscored that peace is community-driven, dialogue-centered, and inclusive of women and youth.

In closing, PPBA’s Director of Programs, Mr. Nantip Joseph Laktam, urged participants to sustain the momentum.

“Peace is not a one-man job. As elections approach, let us maintain the spirit of unity and resilience that has brought us this far,” he said.

The session concluded with the formal alignment of the existing PARTNER structures into the PPBA’s Community Peace Architecture Forum (CPAF), which will serve as a permanent platform for early warning, mediation, and grassroots-led conflict prevention in Plateau State.

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Bauchi hit-and-run kills 19-year-old student

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A 500-level student of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, Rebecca Kambai, has been killed in a hit-and-run accident along the Bauchi-Jos Road in Bauchi.

The 19-year-old died on Tuesday evening after a Sharon commercial bus allegedly rammed into the motorcycle she was riding near the Police Officers’ Mess before fleeing the scene.

A family source told DAILYPOST that the undergraduate had recently returned home for the holidays but realised she had left some personal belongings in school.

The source said Rebecca arranged for friends to send the items through a commercial driver travelling to Bauchi. When the driver arrived at the Bauchi motor park near Awala Hotel, he contacted her to collect the package.

Her brother reportedly took her to the park on a motorcycle. After collecting the items, they were heading home when the crash occurred.

According to the source, as they approached the Police Officers’ Mess and were about to turn into the New GRA area, the Sharon bus hit the motorcycle and sped off.

Rebecca was thrown onto the road and suffered severe head injuries, including a fractured skull. She was pronounced dead at the scene, while her brother sustained injuries.

A First Information Report obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps, Bauchi Sector Command, showed that the crash occurred at about 5:15 pm on July 14, 2026, and was reported five minutes later.

The report stated that FRSC personnel arrived at the scene at about 5:30 p.m., recording a response time of 10 minutes.

It identified the motorcycle involved as a Jincheng motorcycle with registration number TFB-38-QB, used for private purposes.

The FRSC said two adults, a male and a female, were involved in the crash. The male sustained injuries, while the female was confirmed dead.

Items recovered from the scene included the motorcycle, a women’s hair stretcher and a pair of shoes.

The injured victim was evacuated to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital for treatment, while Rebecca’s body was deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.

The driver of the Sharon bus reportedly fled the scene immediately after the crash and had yet to be identified as of the time of filing this report. Efforts to trace and apprehend the suspect are ongoing.

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ADC demands independent probe of physiotherapist’s death at Umahi’s residence

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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Federal Government to launch an independent investigation into the death of physiotherapist Mary Habila, who was found dead at the Ebonyi residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC also asked Umahi to step aside while the investigation is ongoing.

The party said the death of a citizen inside the home of a serving minister is a serious matter that requires transparency and accountability. It added that questions about why Habila was at the residence and what led to her death have not been answered.

The statement said: “We therefore call for an independent investigation that is completely removed from the control or influence of the Executive.”

The party also demanded that the inquiry include “a full autopsy to determine the exact cause of Ms Habila’s death and a public report of its findings.”

According to the ADC, an investigation carried out outside the influence of the Executive is the only way to establish the facts and restore public confidence.

The opposition party accused the Tinubu administration of protecting top government officials from proper scrutiny whenever controversies arise.

Abdullahi said: “The Tinubu administration appears more eager to defend reputations than to establish facts and submit to accountability.”

The ADC insisted that Umahi should temporarily leave office while the investigation is conducted.

It stated: “The least that should be expected is that the Minister, namely Senator David Umahi, should immediately step aside from office pending the conclusion of an independent investigation.”

The party warned that failure to ensure accountability would strengthen public belief that senior government officials are shielded from investigation. It also expressed condolences to Habila’s family and called for a transparent investigation, with the findings made public.

Habila’s death has drawn national attention after reports said she died under unclear circumstances at Umahi’s residence in Ebonyi State.

The Ebonyi State Police Command has transferred the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), while the cause of her death is yet to be confirmed.

Umahi has denied any wrongdoing and said there was no attempt to cover up the incident.

He explained that Habila was among medical personnel attached to the Federal Ministry of Works and said he advised her family to approve an autopsy to determine the cause of her death.

Opposition parties and civil society groups have also called for an independent investigation.

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