Colonel (retired) Jibril Bala Yakubu was the first Administrator of Zamfara State after it was created from part of Sokoto State in October 1996, holding office until the return to democracy in May 1999 during the military regimes of Generals Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar.[1] As Zamfara administrator, Yakubu created five Emirates in the state and eleven new District Councils.[2] After handing over to the civilian governor Ahmed Sani Yerima in May 1999, as a former military administrator he was required to retire from the army.[3]
Jibril Bala Yakubu | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Zamfara State | |
| In office 7 October 1996 – May 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Rasheed Adisa Raji (Sokoto State) |
| Succeeded by | Ahmad Sani Yerima |
Biography edit
Yakubu was arrested and jailed based on a charge filed on 9 December 1999 that alleged that he conspired with four others in 1996 to assassinate Alex Ibru, the publisher of The Guardian newspaper.[4] As Commanding Officer of 29 Battalion, he allegedly supplied arms to killer squads who eliminated other opponents of General Sani Abacha.[5] In December 2003 a judge refused his request to stop the trial.[6] In April 2009 the Arewa Consultative Forum, a Northern lobby group, urged the Federal Government to release Yakubu Jibril on the basis of the spirit of national reconciliation recommended by the Oputa panel.[7]
Eventually, after 12 years of imprisonment, trials and retrials, Yakubu and his co-defendants were acquitted of most charges on 21 December 2010.[8] The co-defendants were former Chief Security Officer Hamza al-Mustapha, former Lagos State Police Commissioner James Danbaba and former head of the Aso Rock Anti-Riot Police Rabo Lawal.[9]
References edit
- ^ "Nigerian States". WorldStatesmen. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "ZAMFARA STATE". Online Nigeria Daily News. 2003-12-02. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "OBASANJO HIRES & FIRES". NDM DEMOCRACY WATCH 1999/03. 1 July 1999. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
- ^ Chika Amanze-Nwachuku (2003-10-22). "Ibru: Yakubu's Application for Hearing Oct 27". ThisDay. Archived from the original on 2005-12-04. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "Nigeria: How We Killed Kudirat". P.M. News (Lagos). 1999-12-27. Retrieved 2010-05-19.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ise-Oluwa Ige (December 17, 2003). "Abubakar bribed Rogers to indict me, says Al-Mustapha". Vanguard News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ Emeka Mamah (30 April 2009). "Ekiti - ACF Urges Politicians to Moderate Conduct, Utterances". Vanguard. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ Paul Dada (22 December 2010). "Attempted Murder of Alex Ibru - Al-Mustapha, Others Cleared". Leadership (Abuja). Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ^ Nicholas Ibekwe (Dec 22, 2010). "Al-Mustapha, others acquitted of attempted murder". Next (Nigeria). Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
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