No court case against Matawalle over link to Banditry
There is no court case pending against the Minister of State for Defence and former Zamfara State Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, a group of Zamfara State indigenes under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Zamfara State (CCZS) has said.
CCZS said a report claiming that the minister had a connection with banditry was untrue, adding that it was false, misleading, and fallacious for anyone to say a case was pending in court against him.
The group spoke through a statement by its Chairman Yusuf Sani and Secretary Dahiru Nasiru.
It described the reports as fake news.
The reports, which were said to have been circulated on various social media platforms, claimed that a Federal High Court in Abuja accepted to hear a suit by Abubakar Dahiru, who described himself a rights activist, seeking a probe against Matawalle for allegedly supporting banditry while in office as Zamfara State governor
CCZS claimed that a search by its lawyers at the Federal High Court in Abuja showed that no such suit was filed in the court.
The group noted that should such a suit be filed eventually, the minister is not afraid to defend himself in the court of law.
It accused Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal of political witch-hunt and allegedly engaging in efforts to discredit his immediate predecessor.
CCZS, which faulted the allegations linking Matawalle with banditry, challenged the accusers to support their allegations with proof.
The statement reads: “It is worth noting that Matawalle, the former governor of Zamfara State, had previously taken steps to address the banditry issue, including establishing military operations and spending billions of naira on security.
“He had even gone a step further, swearing with the Holy Qur’an, as he pointed out in a recent media interview, that he never sponsored banditry and that this is nothing but a wicked political witch-hunt being sponsored by his successor.
“Recall that Governor Dauda Lawal had accused his predecessor of ‘sponsoring banditry’ and ‘accommodating the terrorist at the Government House’.
“These are parts of the gimmicks of Governor Dauda who has been a continuous guest to media houses to tarnish the image of the Honourable Minister of State for Defence and also to block his re-appointment as a minister since the news of cabinet reshuffle became public…”
“We are reliably informed that Governor Dauda is the one sponsoring the forum shopping for a court order which has a stringent process to be followed before it is granted. The courts cannot be deceived or induced by Governor Lawal or his proxies. This name-dropping of the court is absurd, preposterous and naive for a person of his status trying to run down his own brother who is holding a sensitive post in the government.
“The public should be wary of deceitful information emanating from the governor of Zamfara or his proxies and are advised to disregard such a publication.”
