The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, on Tuesday challenged Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, to swear on the Holy Quran to prove his innocence in the state’s ongoing banditry crisis,Daily Trust reports.
Matawalle issued this challenge during an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, where he refuted the governor’s allegations linking him to banditry in Zamfara.
He recalled taking an oath with the Quran in the past, affirming he had no connection to banditry.
Governor Lawal, during a separate interview on TVC, had urged Matawalle to step down from his position and address accusations of sponsoring banditry and engaging in money laundering during his time as governor. Lawal stated, “If I were him, I would resign and face the allegations to clear my name. That would be the honorable thing to do. How can he remain Minister of Defence with all these accusations against him?”
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In response, Matawalle said, “Let them bring any proof of that.”
He dismissed the allegations as baseless, explaining that they stemmed from his decision to engage in dialogue with bandits, a strategy that other governors, including those from Niger and Sokoto states, had also pursued.
“It wasn’t just me who engaged in dialogue with bandits. Other governors did the same. Why am I being singled out? Is it because it’s Zamfara?” he asked. “Zamfara is a complicated state with people who harbor evil intentions. I was the only governor who swore on the Holy Quran, declaring I had no involvement with banditry. I even said that if I were involved or complicit in any way, God should not grant me even a second of grace.”
Matawalle went on to challenge prominent figures, including General Ali Gusau and Governor Lawal, to take the same oath. “None of them has been willing to do so, and if they won’t, it suggests they might be part of the problem,” he claimed.
