Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has revealed that he had reported Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, claiming he has ties to banditry in the state.

Governor Lawal made the disclosure on Tuesday, September 25.

Lawal asserts that he has presented concrete evidence to both the NSA and President Bola Tinubu, detailing Matawalle’s alleged role in aiding banditry, which has plagued Zamfara and other parts of Nigeria’s northwest.

In a statement, Lawal’s Chief Press Secretary, Sulaiman Idris, said, “When the governor met with the President, he explained all these things to him as well. He has also explained to the NSA that this is the situation and these are the facts that we have.”

Matawalle, who served as Zamfara’s governor from 2019 to 2023, has denied any involvement in the ongoing banditry crisis. He defended his past decision to engage in dialogue with bandits as a measure to reduce violence in the state.

Matawalle said: “I have no ties with bandits. It is baseless to accuse me because I chose dialogue as an option to stop the killings.

“Other governors in the region, including those of Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina states, have also engaged in such talks.”

However, Governor Lawal’s team swiftly responded, calling Matawalle’s claims “lies” and stating that they had evidence to prove his involvement.

“He [Matawalle] is lying. We mentioned names. He should come out and clear his name… We have facts, and the NSA is aware of that. If he wants a media trial, we will do that because we know we have all the evidence,” the governor’s camp said.