The tragic incident occurred six months ago along the Wukari-Chonku Road while Atsi and their mother were en route from Jalingo to Abuja.
Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has publicly refuted earlier reports suggesting that his late sister, Atsi Kefas, was killed by bandits, revealing instead that a police escort attached to his mother was responsible for his sister’s death.
Speaking during a press briefing with journalists in Jalingo, the state capital, Governor Kefas explained that fresh findings from an official investigation confirmed that Atsi was fatally shot at close range by a police escort who was travelling in the same vehicle with her.
The tragic incident occurred six months ago along the Wukari-Chonku Road while Atsi and their mother were en route from Jalingo to Abuja.
“Life to me is very precious. You can’t just end someone’s life and think God will be happy with you. My younger sister was shot and killed by a police escort who was inside the bus with her,” LEADERSHIP quoted Governor Kefas as saying.
“Investigation revealed that she was shot at a close range. The policeman is still undergoing interrogation with the police.”
He further disclosed that an autopsy revealed gun pellets lodged in the victim’s body, confirming that the fatal shot came from within the vehicle rather than from an external attack, as was widely speculated.
Initially, the public narrative pointed to an ambush by suspected bandits attempting to kidnap the governor’s mother, a theory that the governor’s statement has now debunked.
The revelation was made during a solemn event where Governor Kefas led a moment of silence, not only for his sister but also for the over 50 victims recently killed in a separate violent attack by suspected herders in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area.
In his remarks, the governor decried the ongoing violence plaguing the state and stressed the need for peaceful coexistence.
Governor Kefas said he regrets that the people who should be living peacefully together to develop their areas have embraced a crisis that has led to the killing of several lives without any justification.
To address the recurring violence, the governor announced plans to establish a commission of enquiry to investigate the root causes of the recent communal clashes, to restore lasting peace.
He issued a stern warning against acts of violence and lawlessness, saying that anybody found breaching peace in the state will not be spared in the eyes of the law.
