Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has dismissed allegations of aiding banditry, calling on accusers to provide evidence.
In an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, he defended his decision to engage in dialogue with bandits, a practice he says was supported by several governors and has led to the recovery of abducted persons and ammunition in Zamfara.
They should bring any proof of that,” the minister said. ”Because of the dialogue, it was not only I, remember all the governor dialogue, the governor of Niger state dialogue with bandits, the governor of Sokoto did the same. while only me because it is Zamfara.”
” Zamfara is a very complex state with terrible human beings with devilish ideas”
Matawalle also indicated that his accusers are all involved in the activities they have alleged him of.
According to estimates from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED)–at least five times more people were kidnapped in Nigeria last year than in both Mexico and Colombia combined — countries notorious for abductions
The minister argued that his fearlessness in tackling criminal elements in Zamfara has made him unpopular among those engaged in criminal activities.
“The dialogue brought significant success,” Matawalle asserted, citing the recovery of weapons and the release of thousands of abducted individuals, including some foreign nationals.
Banditry and kidnapping are just some of the challenges facing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who came to power in May promising to tackle insecurity from criminal gangs, jihadists and other armed groups.
Drawing comparisons to the path of negotiations with bandits taken by then President Buhari, in his efforts to secure the release of the Chibok girls, Matawalle said, “This is a global practice; governments across the world enter into agreements to save lives,” he added.
Matawalle also condemned what he described as attempts to blackmail him for his efforts. “People are spreading misconceptions out of hate, but I have no regrets because we achieved a lot of success without paying a single kobo in ransom.”
The former state governor of Zamfara also denied allegations of siphoning state funds claiming these were fabrications of the present governor of the state, Dauda Lawal
”In my four years, I did not ever receive that money. The records are there, the indices are with the Ministry of Finance. It is on record and let me tell you I don’t understand. I pity Dauda(Zamfara Gov). I thought for now he should concentrate on giving good governance to the people of Zamfara state. I thought, for now, he should concentrate on the issue of insecurity”
Governor Lawal accused the immediate past governor, Bello Matawalle of stealing over ₦70 billion from the state government.
He decried that despite evidence made available to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the commission has not done much to recover the loot.
When asked what lies the governor said, Matawalle answered ”How can he say unaccounted N240bn, before he said 70bn,it is not a surprise to me if you know who Dauda is, This is someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about.
