Aku-Uka of Wukari Calls for Sustained Security Action as Communities Face Banditry, Kidnapping
ABUJA — The Aku-Uka of Wukari, His Royal Majesty Dr. Ishaku Adda Ali, has raised the alarm over the worsening security situation affecting communities associated with the historic Kwararafa Kingdom.
The monarch spoke at the 2026 Kwararafa People’s Assembly meeting in Abuja, where he said parts of the old Kwararafa Confederacy had recently come under attacks by bandits and other criminal elements.
According to him, several communities across Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and Niger states have been affected by banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder violence and displacement.
He said the situation had made it increasingly difficult for residents to engage in farming and trading, while some children could no longer attend school and families had been forced from their ancestral homes.
> “We do not come here to accuse, but to say, we need help,” the monarch said, stressing that the response must be real, sustained and reach affected communities.
Dr. Ali also expressed concern over divisions among the various ethnic groups historically linked to the Kwararafa Confederacy, urging them to rediscover their shared heritage and work together despite political, religious and ethnic differences.
He questioned why groups that had historically lived under a common political and cultural formation could remain divided in the 21st century.
Kefas: Assembly Not Taraba Government Programme
Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, who attended the gathering, described himself as a proud son of the Kwararafa Kingdom and said he accepted the role of core convener because of his connection to the shared heritage.
The governor, however, clarified that his role was personal and not an official responsibility of the Taraba State Government.
He said the Kwararafa People’s Assembly was neither a Taraba State Government programme nor an avenue to promote any personal, political or sectional agenda.
Kefas said the assembly should provide a platform for peace, cooperation and national development, while urging people connected to the Kwararafa heritage to use their shared history to contribute to Nigeria’s progress.
He also stressed that the Kwararafa heritage belonged not only to Taraba State or a particular ethnic group or traditional institution, but to all communities connected to the historical confederacy.
The meeting was attended by several traditional rulers and political representatives, including deputy governors from Kogi, Plateau and Nasarawa states, as well as the Ona of Abaji, Andoma of Doma, Ohinoyi of Ebira land and Attah of Igala, among others.
The Ohimegye of Opanda-Umaisha Kingdom, HRH Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, also called for greater recognition of the shared Kwararafa heritage among the various ethnic groups linked to it.
