The Zamfara Youth League has strongly condemned recent allegations linking the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, to banditry, describing the claims as reckless, vexatious, and a manifestation of indecent politics taken too far.
In a statement issued on behalf of the group by Ubaidullah Yahaya, the League said the accusations were dirty and offensive, arguing that they overstep the acceptable boundaries of political contestation. According to the group, the allegations are part of a sponsored campaign aimed at maligning the former Zamfara State governor.
The League alleged that the attacks are politically motivated and not unconnected to speculation about Matawalle’s ambition to contest the Zamfara governorship seat in 2027, currently occupied by Governor Dauda Lawal. It claimed that those sponsoring the campaign are driven by fear of Matawalle’s political influence and his capacity to challenge the incumbent at the polls.
“The quarters behind these obnoxious campaigns know that Dr. Matawalle possesses the political clout to defeat Dauda Lawal in an election,” the statement said, adding that the attacks stem from anxiety and jealousy over the minister’s prominence and record of delivery.
The League insisted that Matawalle has never supported, funded, promoted, or advanced the cause of banditry. Rather, it described him as a consistent opponent of criminal elements, noting that bandits detest him as much as he opposes them.
The group argued that Matawalle’s appointment as Minister of State for Defence by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a reflection of the President’s knowledge of his track record in tackling insecurity. It recalled that during the kidnapping of students in Kebbi State, President Tinubu specifically relied on Matawalle to intervene, stressing that the minister did not return until all the abducted children were rescued unharmed.
“The President knows the facts of Matawalle’s successes as Governor of Zamfara State, much more than his detractors. In fact, when the crisis of the Kebbi students kidnap arose, President Tinubu did not need to look to any one else other than Dr Matawalle to go to Kebbi State, deal with the issue and return the students unharmed!
“Dr. Matawalle achieved that. He did not return to base, till the children, all were rescued.”
The League further accused Matawalle’s critics of attempting to tarnish his reputation through falsehoods, likening the campaign to the proverbial act of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. It also alleged that the sponsors of the attacks had gone as far as presenting a former aide of Matawalle—who, according to the group, was dismissed, disgraced, and imprisoned for criminal conduct and links to terrorists—as a key witness in their campaign.
Contrary to the allegations, the League said official records show that Matawalle made significant progress in addressing banditry during his tenure as governor, surpassing the efforts of his predecessors from whom he inherited the crisis. It noted that he worked closely with the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu Buhari and the then Chief of Army Staff, General T. Y. Buratai, deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to tackle insecurity.
The statement also highlighted the establishment of a State Security Committee under Matawalle’s administration, chaired by former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, which cooperated effectively with security agencies to combat criminal elements. According to the League, Zamfara State recorded no bandit attacks for a full year during Matawalle’s tenure.
“Dr. Matawalle as Zamfara State Governor made the most mark in terms of dealing with banditry in the state—far above his predecessors who he inherited the crisis from. He cooperated with the Federal Government, led by former President Muhammadu Buhari, and worked closely with the then Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai to deal decisively with banditry—whether it was by kinetic or non-kinetic approach.
“He set up the Security Committee chaired by M. D Abubakar, a former Inspector General of Police, which dealt successfully with the criminal elements through cooperation with security agencies.
“The records are there. Indeed, for a full year under Dr Matawalle, the state did not experience a single case of a bandit attack.”
The Zamfara Youth League called on those demanding Matawalle’s removal from office based on what it described as fictional ties to banditry to desist immediately, warning that such actions amount to dirty politics taken too far.
“Zamfara indigenes and all those who believe in decent and responsible politics demand that this campaign of falsehood and character assassination must stop,” the statement concluded.
