Defence minister Matawalle under fire for alleged terrorism links. The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, is facing intense scrutiny following allegations that he supported bandit leaders during his tenure as the Governor of Zamfara State. The accusations claim that Matawalle provided vehicles to notorious bandits, including kingpin Bello Turji and others, sparking widespread outrage.
Current Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, called for Matawalle’s resignation during an appearance on national television station TVC on Wednesday. “If I were him, I would resign and face all the allegations against me because, from all the information we are getting, my predecessor was fully involved in some of this banditry,” Lawal stated.
Governor Lawal alleged that Matawalle harbored terrorists at the Government House and facilitated ransom payments through the state government. He also highlighted a previous investigation involving the misappropriation of N70 billion, which he claims is minor compared to other evidence of wrongdoing.
“This information is before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and I wonder how this guy was cleared by the security operatives to become a minister,” Lawal said. “We need the money in Zamfara to address the challenges we are facing.”
This is not the first time Matawalle has faced accusations of sponsoring banditry. In January 2022, while serving as governor under the All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called for his resignation over similar claims. Matawalle’s camp dismissed those accusations as politically motivated, citing his defection from PDP to APC at the time.
Adding to the controversy, Islamic cleric Bello Asada accused Matawalle in a recent video of providing 34 vehicles, including a 2019 model Hilux, to bandit leaders. He questioned why notorious bandits like Turji, who has operated in Zamfara for nearly nine years, have not been captured despite their visibility on social media.
During his governorship, Matawalle launched an amnesty program aimed at disarming bandits. However, Turji, in a video from July 2024, claimed the scheme only empowered certain groups, alleging that the governor hosted bandits at the Government House without requiring them to surrender their weapons.
An aide to Matawalle, Dr. Suleiman Shuaib, dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated. “This is a mere allegation and an act of witch-hunting,” Shuaib said, defending his boss’s efforts to restore peace in Zamfara through dialogue. He insisted that Matawalle never sponsored terrorism and called on Governor Lawal to stop targeting his predecessor for political gain.
A presidential aide, when contacted for comment, declined to respond directly to the allegations but hinted that answers would come when the President announces the new cabinet list.
As the accusations swirl, Nigerians await further developments, particularly from the EFCC, which has been investigating the alleged financial mismanagement under Matawalle’s administration.
