Jos, Plateau State – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has accused the military of abducting its chairman in the Jos South Local Government Area, Mr. Dung Tari. The State Chairman of the PDP, Chris Hassan, made this assertion during a press conference held in Jos on Thursday.
Hassan detailed the circumstances surrounding Tari’s abduction, stating that unidentified military personnel abducted him around 1 pm after a meeting with his Executive Committee members at the party’s Secretariat in the Bukuru area of Jos South LGA.
“After the meeting at the LGA party office in Bukuru, he (Tari) picked up his niece on his way to attend to a family matter. Thereafter, he stopped at a Total Filling Station in Bukuru, where he parked his vehicle to respond to phone calls. Suddenly, two Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks in military colors and with military uniforms surrounded him and bundled him into one of the Toyota Hilux vehicles, while one of the soldiers forced his niece out of his private car and proceeded to an unknown destination,” Hassan explained.
The incident took place on September 23, 2023, and, as of the press conference, there had been no communication from Tari or his abductors, and his family had not been informed of his whereabouts or the reason for his abduction.
The PDP in Plateau State has reported the matter to various security agencies in the state to initiate an investigation into the whereabouts of the abducted LGA chairman. Hassan expressed concern that Tari’s abduction, carried out in a commando style, was causing tension and had the potential to disrupt the fragile peace in the state.
Hassan pledged to provide sureties who could produce the LGA chairman upon demand and appealed to national security authorities, including the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Director General of the Department of State Services, to intervene and ensure Tari’s immediate release.
In response, the spokesman for the military taskforce responsible for maintaining peace in Plateau, Captain Oya James, denied the involvement of Nigerian military personnel in Tari’s abduction. He challenged the PDP to provide evidence to support their claims and emphasized the need for witnesses to come forward with pictures or other proof involving military troops, allowing the military to trace the vehicle, as all military vehicles are numbered.