Bello Matawalle, Dauda Lawal
By Adebayo Obajemu
The continued escalation of terrorism has for long created unending worry among Nigerians, as successive governments since Goodluck Jonathan have failed to stem the tide. It could be recalled that former President Jonathan alluded to the presence of terrorists in his government.
During the Buhari era, the Qatari government was said to have aided the government with intelligence detailing names of terrorism sponsors. Neither Buhari nor the current government has initiated moves to prosecute them.
In the past couple of weeks, there had been a slew of accusations and counter accusations among top political figures in the north over sponsorship of terrorists.
In a revealing interview with Channels Television, the Minister of State for Defence and former Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, exonerated himself from allegations of sponsoring terror; on the other hand, he heaped the blame of rise in terror activities in Zamfara on his successor, the current governor Dauda Lawal.
Before the Channels interview, Matawalle was alleged to have procured vehicles for bandit leaders, including a notorious kingpin, Bello Turji, and others while serving as Zamfara State Governor. In the interview monitored by NATIONAL WAVES, Matawalle insisted that while he served as governor none of the local government headquarters were ever attacked, adding that now terrorists daily besieged headquarters of local governments in the state. He detailed how the current governor Lawal has consistently rebuffed efforts by him and the substantive Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru to seek a synergy with Zamfara governor to tackle insecurity.
Earlier governor Lawal, had appeared on TVC, a national television station two Wednesdays ago urging Mattawalle to resign as minister.
He said, “If I were him (Matawalle), I would resign and face all the allegations against me because, from all the information we are getting, my predecessor was fully involved in some of this banditry.”
According to Lawal, the former governor kept terrorists at the government house, and ransom was paid to terrorists through the government.
“In May 2023, there was this allegation of misappropriation of N70billion. We realised that the N70billion was a child’s play compared to what we have. This information is before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and I wonder how this guy was cleared by the security operatives to become a minister.
“We are still waiting to hear from the EFCC; the case has been on for a year now. This is people’s money; we need the money in Zamfara to address the challenges we are facing.”
Lawal’s was not first accusation against the former governor.
Recall that in January 2022, as state governor under the All Progressives Congress, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party had made persistent accusation that Mattawalle was sponsoring banditry.
The APC had countered the allegation, insisting it was because he defected from the PDP to the party at the time.
An Islamic cleric, Bello Asada, also accused him of sponsoring bandits.
In a video seen by NATIONAL WAVES, Asada who spoke in Hausa, alleged that Matawalle procured vehicles for Turji and other bandits.
He said, “You didn’t love especially because of God. Murtala Bello said your godfather has bought vehicles for terrorists, among them is this Halilu Subububu. The defence (state) minister has bought a brand new car and given it to him (is he not the one who’s called ‘Wankin Dan Kanoma’). There is also Ada Aleru.
“I know that he has purchased about 34 vehicles and distributed them to leaders of terrorists. He (Halilu) who I was accused of purchasing a car; was the Zamfara State governor who gave him a brand new 2019 model Hilux, not a second-hand car. People like Ado Aleru were given. I was with the police; Bello Turji was given.
“Decent people like the police, military, and civil defence who are looking for Hilux were not given, only for them to use our money to buy brand new Hiluxes for terrorists.”
Asada further questioned why Turji, despite being a notorious criminal with a visible presence on social media, had not been captured.
Turji has terrorised Zamfara State by killing, kidnapping, and extorting residents for nearly nine years.
His activities gained public attention after a series of videos surfaced on social media, where he also accused Matawalle of sponsoring banditry in the state.
NATIONAL WAVES recalls that between 2019 and 2023, the minister then as state governor had initiated amnesty for terrorists in Zamfara State.
But Turji, in a video in July 2024, claimed that the scheme only empowered some of his colleagues.
It was widely reported that Turji said he killed one of the bandit leaders in his Shinkafi LGA for peace to reign, but the governor later allegedly sabotaged his efforts.
He said, “Any person living in Shinkafi, Zurmi, and Isa (Sokoto State) cannot deny this claim. There is a particular group of bandits whom the former governor pampered. I chased the group from Shinkafi, I killed their leader, Dudu, for peace to reign in Shinkafi. The group had 200 arms, but the governor later hosted them (Dudu’s boys) at the Government House.
“But the government failed to ask the group to surrender their weapons. Another group led by Bashari Maniya has over 300 guns. I seized 30 from them. Where are the remaining? And they never surrendered their weapons to the government.”
He alleged that some of the bandit leaders involved in the peace truce moved to the Sokoto metropolis after giving their arms to their boys kidnapping for ransom. He said the boys were making returns to their leaders living in Sokoto town.
He named some of them as Bashari Maniya, Kabiru, and Buhari.
But an aide to the minister, Dr Suleiman Shuaib, in a press conference said what Lawal was doing amounted to witch-hunting to cover up for his incompetence. Mattawalle had earlier made reference to dubious business deals that Lawal was doing with the state which he Mattawalle stopped as one of the reasons for the attack on him.
The Managing Director of a security firm, Beacon Consulting Limited, Kabir Adamu, in his own reaction to accusations and counter-accusations flying around like a whirlwind noted that they indeed constituted an said the accusations against indication of the weaponisation of insecurity in the country.
According to the security analyst, the Federal Government and the Zanfara State Government were pursuing very different policy objectives on security.
“The state government has indicated clearly that it is not negotiating with bandits. However, there is evidence and facts that show that at least some officials at the federal level are negotiating, are in contact with the bandits, and have even exchanged funding in some instances with them”, he added.
The spokesperson for the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Ladipo Johnson, said the inclusion of Matawalle in Tinubu’s cabinet spoke volumes about the President’s respect for Nigerians and integrity.
“One wonders what the thought process of Mr President and his inner team was for putting a person like Matawalle in the cabinet to man the Ministry of Defence”, said Johnson.
He noted that there had been many questions about Matawalle, which were enough for Tinubu to ask the minister to clarify the allegations against him.
“There are many questions about him (Matawalle), especially now that the governor and Islamic cleric have come out to accuse him. It is enough for Mr President to ask him to address the allegations. That is what a proper government should do. But this government doesn’t care about what we think or say as a people. Matawalle should come out to address the allegations and set the record straight.”
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters two Thursdays ago said investigations were actively underway into allegations of bandit sponsorship in the North West region.
Last Tuesday, Matawalle actually challenged Lawal to swear on the Holy Qur’an that he had no involvement in the sponsorship of bandits.
In response, Lawal vowed to release evidence against the minister, adding that he had also reported the matter to the National Security Adviser.
When asked about the military’s role regarding the allegations involving two influential Nigerians, the Director of Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, stated at a press briefing that relevant agencies tasked with such responsibilities are diligently investigating the matter, though he did not mention any names.
He said, “And when you talk about what’s going on about the sponsors, I can assure you that the relevant agencies that are saddled with that responsibility are doing a good job. And sooner than later, you will hear some announcements in that regard.”
Buba said notwithstanding, the military was focused on winning the war against banditry, and has focused on destroying their fighting will.
He said, “Winning a war is destroying the enemy’s will to fight. When you destroy the enemy’s will to fight, the war is over, you have won the war. And that’s why we are focused on destroying the enemy’s will to fight.”
Speaking on the troops’ achievements between July and September 2024, Buba said a total of 1,937 terrorists were killed among which 65 were notable leaders.
He said, “Troops’ offensive actions culminated in the neutralization of over 65 notable terrorist leaders, commanders, and combatants across all theatres of operations. Significant terrorist leaders were eliminated from the battlefield.
“These include Munzir Arika, Sani Dilla (Dan Hausawan Jubillaram), Ameer Modu, Matawal Bitrus, Thomas Benedict, Mohammed Sani, Rimamy (aka Omo), Terkimbi Injoko, Jacob Uzege, Ibn Kasir, Kachalla Ɗan Baleri, Kachallah Halilu Jimmare (Buzu), Kachalla Dan Ali Garin Fadama, Kachalla Dan Mani Na Inna, Kachalla Basiru Zakarriya and Ofem Igwe among others.
“Overall, in the third quarter of this year, troops neutralised 1,937 terrorists, arrested 2,782 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements as well as rescued 1,854 kidnapped hostages. Furthermore, troops recovered 1,304 weapons and 43,347 ammunition.”
He added that troops recovered crude oil worth N13bn within the duration under review.
Buba said, “Troops denied oil theft of an estimated sum over N13,081,605,534.00 only.12,143,870 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,623,216 litres of illegally refined AGO, 6,970 litres of DPK, and 31,450 litres of PMS amongst other items. Accordingly, the nation’s daily crude oil production output is at an all-time high, with the nation’s daily target in sight.
