Again, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, has said his predecessor and Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle of being behind banditry in the state at some point.
Lawal even went further by revealing that both President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu were aware of Matawalle’s alleged involvement in banditry.
Speaking on Tuesday, the governor added that he had reported the minister to the NSA and the President and presented some facts to them.
Speaking on Channels Television earlier, Matawalle had denied having any ties with bandits in the state and, had challenged Governor Dauda and General Ali Gusau (retd.) to swear by the Holy Quran that they have no involvement in banditry ravaging the state and the entire North-West.
The minister 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, noting that other governors, including those of Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina states, had also engaged in similar talks with bandits.
However, in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, Lawal’s Chief Press Secretary, Sulaiman Idris, said the minister was lying and vowed that all the evidence against him would soon be released to the media.
He said Governor Lawal, who is currently out of the country, had sworn by the Qu’ran and prayed that anyone behind banditry should be punished.
Idris said, “He has sworn by the 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.”
