In Takum, Taraba State, Community Leaders Demand Independent Investigation of Killing
By TruthNigeria Staff
(Takum, Taraba State) As Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Riley Moore and former President Donald Trump accuse Nigeria’s government of enabling widespread killings of Christians and warn of looming genocide, Abuja scrambles to deny every allegation. Yet a TruthNigeria investigation shows that actions by certain officials and military elements have helped fuel the Americans’ allegations.
On June 27, 2025, the Nigerian Army released a familiar-sounding update: “6 Brigade Troops Neutralize Bandits, Recover AK-47 in a Successful Operation.” The statement claimed that soldiers encountered and eliminated a criminal near Kwesati, Taraba State, recovering weapons in the process.
But across the displaced Kuteb settlements of Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu, the announcement triggered outrage, disbelief, and grief. The man the Army said it had “neutralized” was not a bandit at all, residents insisted, but a known farmer and father—Rimamskeb Gambo.
A TruthNigeria investigation, relying on eyewitness accounts, community testimonies, and a reconstructed timeline, reveals deep contradictions in the official story and points toward a possible extrajudicial killing. The death of Rimamskeb Gambo now stands as a powerful indictment of the culture of impunity increasingly associated with counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Southern Taraba lies roughly 256 miles southeast of Abuja and stretches toward the Cameroonian border, with some communities only a few miles from Cameroon. The region—covering Wukari, Takum, Donga, Ussa, and Kurmi—sits in the Guinea Savannah belt and is one of Taraba State’s most populated Christian-majority areas.
The Victim: A Farmer, not a Fighter
The Army never named the alleged criminal. TruthNigeria identified him as:
Name: Mr. Rimamskeb Gambo
Village: Changso, Kurmi Local Government Area
Family: Husband to Mrs. Irinarimam Rimamskeb; father of five
Occupation: Farmer and sole breadwinner
To his family and community, the idea that he was a gun-wielding bandit is absurd. His wife, still struggling to comprehend the rapid descent from normalcy to tragedy, told TruthNigeria:
“My husband had never held a gun in his life. The only things he carried were farm tools and the worries of providing for us.”
Another moment in the interview revealed the depth of her anguish:
“When I heard soldiers took him, I was not afraid because I knew he had done nothing. I never imagined they would beat him, kill him, and still call him a criminal.”
The Arrest and the Killing
Accounts from his mother, wife, sister-in-law, and the Changso Youth Leader provide a consistent sequence of events which they told TruthNigeria Correspondents reads
June 26, 2025:
Rimamskeb travelled to Lissam to care for a sick child.
Morning of June 27, 2025:
He set off at dawn to pick up his wife from a church conference in Mubi, giving a young man a lift. Near Mubi Market, soldiers believed to be attached to Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) stopped them and beat him in public view.
The young man he carried on the motorcycle was released immediately at the point of arrest. Only Rimamskeb was taken away by the soldiers to the OPWS base in Kwesati.
His wife recalled:
“He called me earlier and said he was coming to take me home. That was the last time I heard his voice.”
Later that day, his body was found in the bush near Living Faith Church, Kutufa, in Ussa LGA—far from the reported location of the so-called firefight. He had three close-range gunshot wounds to the ribs.
Military experts consulted by TruthNigeria noted that transporting a detainee across local government boundaries—Kurmi to Ussa—suggests an attempt to obscure the true location of death.
Missing Items, Missing Truth
The Army said it recovered an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, a motorcycle, and two phones.
But the family listed the items he actually carried:
Bajaj motorcycle
Two Tecno phones
Bag of clothing
ATM cards
Cash
The clothing, ATM cards, and money have not been accounted for.
Even more troubling is the Army’s version of events regarding the second man. The young passenger—released on the spot during the arrest—was never linked to any crime, contradicting the claim of a two-man armed gang.
This raises critical questions:
If Rimamskeb was truly a “bandit,” why was the person with him deemed innocent and released immediately?
If an AK-47 was recovered, why was the supposed accomplice not detained?
Why did only one man become the subject of a dramatic military press release?
A Familiar Pattern in a Scarred Region
To the Kuteb communities, the killing fits a pattern of unpunished abuses and inconsistent security operations. Since 2017, more than 200 villages have been emptied due to attacks by armed groups. Yet responses from the security establishment have rarely led to justice.
Two incidents remain bitter memories:
April 29, 2022: Jonathan Usman (“Director”) was allegedly shot dead by uniformed men in an unmarked Hilux. No investigation followed.
May 11, 2022: After armed men killed a Mobile Police officer and six soldiers—including a commanding officer—in Tati, the community saw no meaningful pursuit or accountability.
Against this backdrop, the sudden presentation of a “successful operation” that turned out to be the killing of a well-known farmer only deepens mistrust.
The Army’s statement added a troubling line: “many bandits may have escaped with gunshot wounds.” In this region, such language often precedes sweeping arrests, harassment of civilians, or “label-and-kill” tactics.
Calls for Justice
The inconsistencies presented by locals to TruthNigeria raise questions not just about the death of one man, but about systemic failures in Nigeria’s security architecture.
Community leaders now demand:
· An independent investigation with civilian and international oversight
· Forensic autopsy to verify gunshot range and possible assault
· Compensation and formal apology to the family
· Prosecution of any personnel involved
· Retraction of the Army report falsely branding him a bandit
His widow framed the community’s plea in stark terms:
“If they can kill an innocent man and call him a bandit, then none of us is safe. Today it is my husband. Tomorrow it could be anyone.”
Silence From the Authorities
As part of this investigation, TruthNigeria’s correspondent sent detailed queries to the Public Relations Officer of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS)—the unit implicated in the arrest and alleged extrajudicial execution of Mr. Gambo. As of press time, no response had been received.
