Tinubu’s Minister Matawalle Breaks Silence on “Sponsoring Bandits” in Zamfara

Tinubu’s Minister Matawalle Breaks Silence on “Sponsoring Bandits” in Zamfara

  • Zamfara governor Dauda Lawal earlier raised an alarm and alleged that Bello Matawalle, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, is behind banditry in the state
  • Governor Lawal, in a now-viral interview, also levelled other heavy allegations against his predecessor and called for his resignation
  • Responding to Lawal's accusation, Bello Matawalle, on Thursday, September 19, denied any link to banditry

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

The minister of state for defence, Bello Matawalle, has denied allegations levelled against him by Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara state that he is behind banditry in the state.

Banditry: Minister of State for Defence says Lawal's accusations are "baseless"
Matawalle reacts to banditry allegations slammed against him by Zamfara Governor Lawal. Photo credit: Dauda Lawal, Bello Matawalle
Source: Facebook

Matawalle accused of sponsoring banditry in Zamfara

Reacting to the governor’s allegations, Bello Matawalle’s office said Governor Lawal has repeatedly towed the same line of action of accusing the Minister of sponsoring banditry which the Minister has consistently denied.

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As reported by Vanguard, Matawalle’s office referred to a statement by his media consultants denying his involvement in banditry or terrorist activities.

This followed a similar allegation in a video by wanted Bandit’s kingpin Bello Turji, who described the claims as baseless and mere attempts to distract and discredit him (Matawalle’s).

The statement, signed by Dayemi Saka, Lead Partner at Lambert and Curtis, read in parts:

“Our attention has been drawn to a video shared on the X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook page in which baseless, malicious, unfounded, mischievous and deliberate concocted lies were told against the Honourable Minister of State for Defense, H.E Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle.
“We are not unmindful of the sustained attacks on the person, integrity, and patriotic sense of duty of our client.

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“It is noteworthy that the efforts of the honourable minister of state, while as Governor of Zamfara State between 2019 and 2023, saw banditry and all other sundry of criminality tackled head-on.
“His demonstration of the strength of Character by insisting he was not going to negotiate with Bandits after the closure of the amnesty window for them to lay down their arms, and strong insistence of Bello Turji doing such is enough motivation for the hatchet man job is he doing.”

Read more about Zamfara banditry here:

Group commends Matawalle, slams Lawal

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Arewa Youth for Peace and Security commended Matawalle for "his strides" in the fight against banditry.

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The group alleged that Lawal exaggerated security concerns during Matawalle's tenure to gain attention and support but had failed to fulfil his promises to address the situation effectively now that he is in power.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

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Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institue of Journalism (NIJ), where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. In 2024, Esther obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.