Banditry: Again, APC group protests against Matawalle in Abuja, asks SSS to probe minister

Some members of an All Progressives Congress (APC) interest group – APC Akida Forum – protested at the headquarters of the State Security Services (SSS) on Tuesday, demanding an investigation of Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defence, over alleged links with bandits.

The group’s chairperson, Musa Mahmud, called on the SSS to conduct the investigation to save millions of Nigerians and safeguard the integrity of President Bola Tinubu and security agencies.

This followed an earlier demand by the Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, who urged Mr Matawalle to resign from his ministerial position to clear his name. Mr Lawal accused the former governor of keeping terrorists at the Government House. He also alleged that ransom was paid to terrorists through the government.

The governor added that he had “reported the minister” to the National Security Adviser and President Tinubu and presented some facts to them.

Tuesday marked the second time APC Akida protested against Mr Matawalle at a law enforcement agency’s headquarters in less than two months, while accusing him of wrongdoing during his time as governor.

On 30 September, the group protested at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, calling for his probe over alleged mismanagement of Zamfara State’s funds.

Mr Matawalle has consistently denied the allegations.

Protest

At about 10 a.m. Tuesday the protesters stormed the SSS headquarters where they submitted a petition which was received by a senior official of the secret police.

In the petition, the group raised concerns over the allegations of Governor Lawal against Mr Matawalle, his predecessor and now Minister of State for Defence.

“These issues include Matawalle being accused of sponsoring bandits and misappropriating state funds. The severe matters strike at the heart of governance, security, and the welfare of the people of Zamfara State and should not be handled lightly,” the petition, a copy of which PREMIUM TIMES saw, read in part.

The group said it considers it its responsibility as loyal APC members to seek a thorough investigation into the claims to uphold the integrity of the party and its leader, the President. “Failing to address these issues could hurt our party and the reputation of relevant security agencies.”

APC Akida Forum storm SSS Headquarters, demands Matawalle’s probe

While emphasizing that the issues are not only political problems, it added that “it encompasses matters of life and death, economic survival, and the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Zamfara State, the North West, and Nigeria as a whole.”

The group urged the SSS to advise the President to relieve Mr Matawalle of his position so he can face investigations.

It said the minister needs to clarify several issues including “his connections with dangerous individuals like Bello Tagoji, Musa Kamarawa, and Ardon Zuru.”

“Kachalla Auwalun Daudawa is a bandit who abducted the Kankara students in 2020. There are heavy allegations that Matawalle bought a house for him in the Damba area of Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State,” it noted, while alleging that “when Tagoji, a bandit warlord, was arrested in January 2023, the Commissioner of Security, DIG Mamman Tsafe, bailed him out on Matawalle’s directive.”

Matawalle denies allegations

Mr Matawalle had in October denied having ties with bandits in Zamfara State.

He said it was baseless to accuse him of sponsoring bandits because he “chose to have a dialogue with bandits as part of efforts to stop killings” during his tenure as governor.

He noted that other governors, including those of Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina states, had also had to engage in similar talks with bandits.

Speaking during a programme on Channels Television last month, Matawalle challenged Governor Dauda and General Ali Gusau (retd.) to swear by the Quran that they have no involvement in the banditry ravaging the state and the entire North-West.

Banditry in Zamfara leaves citizens helpless, military intensifies efforts

Zamfara, a North-Western Nigerian state, has been ravaged by banditry for several years and under successive states and federal governments, while hundreds of lives have been lost and numerous properties destroyed.

A notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, had given residents of Moriki town in the Zurmi Local Government Area of the state a deadline of 9 September to pay an imposed N30 million levy or “face his wrath.”

But reacting to the development, the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, described the bandit kingpin as a deranged person, while wowing that the military would soon capture him.

The bandit kingpin, it was learnt, imposed the N30 million levy on the community, following the killing of over 100 cows belonging to him by the military.

In a message he sent to the community, the dreaded bandit kingpin demanded that the community pay him N30m or face his wrath. The Nigerian military is yet to capture or kill Turji.

Last Wednesday, bandits abducted over 50 persons at Wanke and Gurusu villages of Gusau and Gummi Local Government Areas of the state.

Locals said the victims were abducted in Wanke and environs while working on their farms; while three others were abducted along the Anka-Gurusu road in Anka Local Government Area of the state.

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A resident had told journalists that any attempt by the kidnapped persons to escape would cost them their lives, while noting that the bandits were angered over the killings of their gang members by soldiers.

In October, troops of Operation Hadarin Daji, of the Nigerian Army neutralised five bandits during a gunfight at Mararaban Kyaware, located in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

A counter-terrorism expert, Zagazola Makama, said the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday during a military operation. Mr Makama revealed that several other bandits who fled were also injured.