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How victims paid ransom through Defence Minister – Zamfara governor
“Let me say this categorically. If I were him, I would resign and face all the allegations against me. That would have been more honourable, because from all the information we’re getting, my predecessor was fully involved in some of the banditry issues.”
These were the words with which Dauda Lawal, Governor of Zamfara State, tackled Bello Matawlle, his predecessor in office, now Minister of State for Defence on Wednesday, as the issue of insecurity and banditry in the state continues to rage.
Against the back and forth allegations between the two, Lawal, who defeated the Minister, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the March 8, 2023 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accused the former governor of not only corruption, but actually being in bed with bandits during his tenure.
In fact, the governor, who spoke on the heels of a series of successes in the state, following the vanquishing of some of the dreaded bandit leaders terrorising the state, cited an occasion where one of the victims, whose family members were kidnapped, actually paid ransom through the Minister, then in office as governor.
Hear him: “Typical, in fact, is that there was a permanent secretary, when his children were abducted… it was unfortunate that he had to pay ransom through the government house and it was also very clear based on all the allegations that bandits were being kept at the government house.
“For me honestly, there were so many issues. If I were him, I will step aside and face these allegations until I clear my name before I come back and continue my job. That should have been honourable. How can you imagine with all these allegations against him and he is still the minister of defence? I mean, that is unfair. This man could have been honourable – step aside, clear his name and come back to do what he wants to do. Whether he wants to remain as Minister or he wants to do something else, that would have been more honourable. If I was in that position, believe me, I’d put my resignation letter.
He also accused the Minister of syphoning more than N250billion from government coffers, saying the option of resignation should also have applied since May, 2023, when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accused him of misappropriating N70billion.
His words: “When we took over, we discovered that the N70billion was a child’s play compared to what and all these information are with the EFCC. I wonder how this man was cleared by the security operatives before he was cleared and confirmed as a Minister. It is the same thing I would say. If I were him, I would still face EFCC to say, look, let me clear my name.
“But look at it. We’re still waiting for EFCC. The case has been ongoing for over a year now. This is people’s money. We need this money in Zamfara, with all the challenges that we’re facing, with fincncial constraints. At least, let’s have some of this money back in Zamfara, so that we can work for the people of the state.”
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
Qowiy Oloyede, a resident of Oriya Sokoto road, Atan Ota, is currently telling operatives of the Ogun State Colice command, the reasons that pushed him into making a video suggesting that a part of the state was under attack of terrorists, knowing same to be fake.
Oloyede, reports say, dragged to the police on May 23 by one Ayinla Sodiq, who accused him of creating and sharing a misleading TikTok video falsely claiming that bandits had invaded the Atan Ota community..
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, which broke the news, said on immediately being questioning by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oloyed, allegedly confessed to fabricating the video to gain followers on social media.
Apart from admitting that that he created the fake bandit attack content to gain followers and trend online, said in a video currently on social media the herder featured in the clip was a cattle rearer who usually grazed cows behind his shop and had initially refused to participate before eventually agreeing.
Oloyede, who also claimed he could neither read nor write, adding that his apprentice wrote the caption accompanying the video posted online, maintained that he had only produced and posted two similar videos, one on Monday and another on Wednesday.
The command, said to have recovered photographs and video evidence linked to the fake publication during preliminary investigation, added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Abeokuta, for further investigation, warning residents against spreading false information capable of causing panic and public disorder, and for the public to verify information before sharing content on social media.
For the umpteenth time, President Bola Tinubu has once again, urged Nigerians to be patient with his government, saying the reforms he embarked upon in the last three years, which had begun to yield result would come to its full manifestation soon.
The President, also expressed gratitude to those who had remained supportive of his government during the period, praising them for their resilience and promising that he would not disappoint in the end.
Tinubu, who spoke on Sunday while accepting the fresh nomination of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after being announced as the winner of last Saturday’s presidential primaries across the country, was particularly grateful to the members for their support and renewed his commitment to national development.
With a total of 10,999,162 votes against Stanley Osifo, his only opponent during the exercise who polled 16,503 votes, the President told his audience: “In accepting this nomination, I renew my commitment to serve our nation with even greater determination.
“With another four years of discipline, focus and national cooperation, we will firmly place Nigeria on an irreversible path of economic expansion, industrialisation, energy security, infrastructural development, food sovereignty and democratic consolidation.”
Anyim Pius Anyim, former Senate President, Chairman of the Presidential Primaries Committee of the party, had announced the result of the exercise, subsequent upon which the President received the party flag for the 2027 presidential polls from Nentawe Yilwatda, the APC National Chairman.
Tinubu, while acknowledging the economic hardship experienced by Nigerians since the introduction of key reforms under his administration, including the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms introduced in 2023, told the party faithful: “You have given me the encouragement. Sometimes it is difficult, and I share the pain with you.
“I know what it is to reform an economy that was in tatters. If you lost sleep, I lost some too. If you have lost weight, I think I have lost some too. But I have always remembered one thing: in 2022, I asked for this job, you all supported me, and I got it, so I must do it.”
Highlighting several reforms implemented by his administration, including the student loan scheme, tax reforms, and infrastructure projects, he said more than ₦282 billion had been disbursed to about 1.5 million beneficiaries under the student loan programme, pledging to strengthen electricity supply and create more opportunities for young Nigerians and businesses across the country ahead of the 2027 election.
The president reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to security, promising intensified efforts against banditry and other criminal activities across the country.
Tinubu also urged Nigerians not to become “complacent” or allow politicians without “clear alternative visions” to derail the country’s progress, noting that the forthcoming election must be “a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s democratic maturity.”
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