The Zamfara State chapter of the Northern Awareness Network (NAN) and the Northern Stakeholders Consultative Forum (NSCF) have condemned the emboldened actions of Kachallah Bello Turji, a notorious kidnapper, and bandit leader to tarnish the image of the minister of state for defence Bello Matawalle.
The groups said Turji made allegations against the current minister of state for Defence, Matawalle which the northern groups described as unsubstantiated.
Samaila Kwali, the NAN state chairman, in a statement emphasised the intolerability of a government allowing criminal organisations to operate freely with brazen impunity. “It is unacceptable for a government charged with the responsibility to protect the lives and properties of its citizens to allow such open displays of criminality.”
NAN therefore called on Governor Dauda Lawal to immediately cease any actions that could be perceived as playing dubious political games at the expense of the lives of the citizens.
“From the interview with Turji, it is clear he was playing a script handed to him by certain desperate politicians in the state, aiming to discredit Matawalle by insinuating his connections with bandits. However, the ill-conceived scheme backfired,” it said.
It said Turji’s inaccurate assertions during the interview, notably the unfounded claim that bandits still held significant influence in the government house more than a year after Matawalle had left office, not only backfired on the current governor, Dauda Lawal but also revealed the desperation and lack of credibility of some Zamfara State politicians.
The northern groups said throughout Matawalle’s tenure as governor, none of the headquarters of the 14 local government areas were ever infiltrated by bandits. It alleged that under the current administration, several local government headquarters and even the state capital had been invaded by bandits in just the first year.
It said this is a clarion call to the Zamfara State government and all relevant authorities to take decisive and effective measures to end the menace posed by Turji and his gang.
Spokesperson of the NSCF Comrade Danjuma Paul said, the desperate attempts by forces of corruption now fighting back the system including sponsoring tailored interviews to shamefully twist the narratives using terror leaders like Bello Turji and other crime lords to fabricate unsubstantiated lies against Matawalle has been uncovered.
He said, at the height of public suffering due to the Buhari government’s unpopular Naira redesign policy, three former governors—Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, and Yahaya Bello of Kogi—took decisive action to challenge the policy in court. He said their bold intervention played a key role in relieving the nation of its economic duress.
“An unforgiving cabal, in collaboration with certain individuals within the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and supported by a financially bankrupt section of a disgruntled northern elite, is orchestrating attacks against these former governors, el-Rufai has already been marginalised, while Yahaya Bello is being relentlessly pursued, leaving Matawalle as the last man standing,” he added.
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