Banditry Allegations: I’ve Reported Defence Minister To NSA, Tinubu – Zamfara gov—-Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has alleged that the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, is involved in the banditry plaguing the state.

Governor Lawal revealed that both President Bola Tinubu and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, are aware of Matawalle’s alleged ties to bandit groups operating in Zamfara.

Lawal’s accusation follows a recent interview where Matawalle, the former governor of Zamfara, strongly denied any connection to bandits.

Speaking on Channels Television, Matawalle challenged both Governor Lawal and retired General Ali Gusau to swear by the Holy Quran that they have no involvement in the banditry affecting Zamfara and the North-West region.

Matawalle defended his decision to engage in dialogue with bandits during his time as governor, stating that other governors from states like Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina had also entered similar negotiations to curb the violence.

He argued that it was baseless to accuse him of sponsoring bandits simply because of his efforts to mediate peace through dialogue.

However, Governor Lawal’s Chief Press Secretary, Sulaiman Idris, countered Matawalle’s claims, asserting that the governor had already presented evidence of Matawalle’s alleged involvement to the NSA and President.

Idris promised that the evidence would soon be made public, dismissing Matawalle’s defense as lies. He further added that Governor Lawal, who is currently abroad, had sworn by the Quran that anyone involved in sponsoring banditry should face divine punishment.

Idris said, “He has done that (swore by Qu’ran). There was a clip of him during an event, when he was lamenting over an incident that happened. That time, he swore that he didn’t have anything to do with banditry and he prayed that anyone who had a hand in the banditry in the state, God should punish the person.

“He (Matawalle) is lying. We mentioned names. He should come out and clear his name. He needs to explain his relationship with them.

“These two people, they were the ones that he gave Hilux and money and foodstuffs to share with bandits. So, this is not an allegation, we have facts and the NSA is aware of that.

“When the governor met with the President, he explained all these things to him as well. He has also explained to the NSA that this is the situation and these are the facts that we have, but now since he’s asking for facts, I assure you that we are going to bring the facts out.

“He wants a media trial; he’s calling for it. So, we’ll do that because we know we have all the evidence.”

A phone and Whatsapp calls to the Office of the National Security Adviser’s spokesperson, Zakari Mijinyawa, were not answered.

He had yet to respond to the message sent to him to inquire if the NSA had initiated an investigation into the allegations against the minister.

The Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, when contacted, said the police were not the lead agency in the operation against banditry in the state.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, could not also be reached as of the time of filing this report.

When contacted, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba said, “Direct your question to the minister’s office, please.”