I have no connection with bandits… I swore by Quran, Matawalle replies Lawal 

Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence and ex-governor of Zamfara, says he has no links with bandits terrorising the state.

Matawalle has been accused of ties to bandits — an allegation he has repeatedly denied.

Ali Gusau, a retired general, had accused Matawalle of working in cahoots with bandits for initiating dialogue with gunmen.

Last week, Dauda Lawal, governor of Zamfara, said if he were Matawalle, he would resign and work towards clearing his name.

The governor detailed how the government house was allegedly used to pay ransom for abducted children of a permanent secretary in the state during the Matawalle administration.

In an interview on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, Matawalle said the allegations were spurious.

He said he initiated dialogue with bandits during his spell as governor because it was recommended by security stakeholders in the state, adding that victims of abduction, including Lawal’s brother, were released without ransom.

Matawalle said he has no regrets on the measures he took to tackle banditry during his tenure, adding that “having dialogue” with bandits has yielded significant results.

“I initiated the dialogue because when I became the governor, I looked at the scenarios which were happening. We had a recommendation that the only option was to dialogue with the bandits. I sat down with the security agencies, traditional rulers and all stakeholders and that was the recommendation we had,” he said.

“It was better for me than to see bandits kill the people of the state. When we entered into this dialogue, that was when we recorded a lot of success. We recovered a lot of ammunition and we secured the release of adopted persons in thousands.

“The record is there. Everyone knew at the time that we initiated dialogue with the bandits and I have no regret for that because we recorded a lot of success.

“An 18-year-brother to Dauda Lawal was kidnapped seven months before I took over as governor. His name is Yusuf. They (bandits) requested about N500 million which Dauda was supposed to pay, but it was based on this dialogue that this person was released unconditionally without paying a ransom.

“I was the only governor who swore by the holy Quran that I have no hand or connections to banditry. I swore that if I was part of it, if I knew those who were doing it or if I was collaborating with them, I said God should not give me a one-second grace.

“I challenged all the politicians, including General Ali Gusau and Dauda Lawal, to do the same. None of them could take the oath, and if they don’t take the oath that means they are part of it.

“I have always acted in good faith, as have other governors who engaged in dialogue with bandits, including the Governor of Niger state, Abubakar Sani Bello, and the Governor of Sokoto state. Yet, I seem to be singled out, perhaps because Zamfara is a complex state with terrible human beings with devilish ideas.”

Matawalle also said he has become unpopular in Zamfara because he is going after criminal elements who are benefitting from the insecurity plaguing the state.

“The people who oppose me do so because I go after them,” he added.