January 12, (THEWILL) — The Northern Elders Progressive Development Group, NEPDG, has reacted to an allegation by the Zamfara State Government claiming that Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, had engaged in open intimidation of opposition figures in the state.
The group, through its Chairman, Yusuf Abubakar Dingyadi, described the allegation as baseless, irresponsible and politically motivated. He noted that it was part of a long-standing campaign to tarnish Matawalle’s image.
The Zamfara State Government at the weekend accused the Minister of using the Office of the National Security Adviser to harass opposition figures in the state. Coming on the heels of the abduction of a Technical Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal, Mr Saleem Abubakar, in Abuja, recently, the governor’s spokesperson Sulaiman Idris, claimed that Abubakar was picked up by “operatives believed to be from a special force unit linked to the NSA Office” without an arrest warrant or recourse to due process.
“The most unfortunate and worrying part of the abduction of Saleem Abubakar is that it was syndicated through the Office of the NSA by the Minister of State for Defence,” Idris said.
The government claimed that the shocking and distressing situation was a deliberate attempt to distablise the state and paint the governor in bad light, adding that the security agencies have joined forces with the minister against the state.
“This is a perilous precedent that all Nigerians must strongly condemn,” Idris said. He called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and stop the ONSA and minister from further action, adding that if the governor’s aide had committed any offence, he should be charged in court in line with the law.
In a swift reaction, an aide to Matawalle, Suleiman Shinkafi, dismissed the allegation as baseless, saying that neither the minister nor any federal security agency was targeting opposition figures in Zamfara.
“There is no opposition in Zamfara State. The PDP is the ruling party, while the APC is the opposition. I don’t think Matawalle is using the NSA or any other office to harass PDP members. Rather, it is the PDP members who are harassing the opposition,” Shinkafi said.
According to NEPDG, Chairman, claims that the minister was using the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to intimidate political opponents were unfounded and misleading.
“This is not the first time the Zamfara State Government has desperately tried to link the former governor to imaginary issues simply to rubbish and destroy his reputation”, Dingyadi said.
He recalled that similar allegations surfaced during Matawalle’s ministerial nomination, when petitions were allegedly sent to security agencies and sponsored protests organised in parts of Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa states, as well as in Abuja, in an attempt to discredit him.
Dingyadi described as politically naïve the suggestion that Matawalle or the NSA could be responsible for intimidation, stressing that security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) are constitutionally empowered to investigate, arrest and detain individuals considered threats to national security.
“If security agencies are carrying out their lawful duties, there is no justification for pointing accusing fingers at the NSA or dragging the Minister of State for Defence into the matter”, he said.
He further accused the Zamfara State Government of hypocrisy, alleging that shortly after the current administration assumed office, some individuals, including high-ranking political appointees, were arrested and detained in Gusau.
“The same people making these allegations today were involved in bundling individuals from Abuja, including a former principal private secretary and detaining him in Gusau,” Dingyadi claimed.
He also alleged that the state government had previously harboured suspected criminals who circulated abusive audio recordings against Matawalle on social media.
Calling on the Zamfara State Government to focus on addressing insecurity, Dingyadi noted that banditry had continued to escalate across several local government areas in the state.
“Politicising security issues is very unfortunate. Instead of cooperating with the Minister of State for Defence to tackle insecurity, they have chosen to play destructive politics, largely driven by 2027 ambitions,” he said.
He described calls for Matawalle’s removal as the actions of individuals opposed to peace, accusing them of promoting hatred and conspiracy capable of undermining national unity.
Dingyadi added that President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Matawalle as Minister of State for Defence was based on trust, competence and experience, citing his background as former Chairman of the House Committee on Security and Intelligence and his efforts to address insecurity while serving as Zamfara State governor.
“The President recognises Matawalle’s commitment and experience in tackling security challenges, particularly in a volatile state like Zamfara,” he said.
Tunde Omolehin is an award-winning Journalist with prose in investigative and storytelling that is connecting the dots between the under-reported communities and policymakers to ensure good governance and accountability.
