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  • Insecurity: Matawalle issues Zamfara bandits two-month ultimatum to surrender arms

    Insecurity: Matawalle issues Zamfara bandits two-month ultimatum to surrender arms

    Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has issued a two-month ultimatum to all bandits in the state to either repent and surrender their weapons or face serious consequences from the security personnel.

    He gave the deadline on Tuesday evening during a state-wide broadcast at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital.

    The governor decried that the activities of informants were becoming worrisome and asked residents engaging in such acts to have a rethink.

    He warned that the state government would squarely face any bandit that refused to surrender within the stipulated time.

    Governor Matawalle stated that the Federal Government would soon deploy additional 6,000 soldiers to help the state government fight the recalcitrant bandits.

    He was hopeful that this would go a long way in addressing the recent increase in the rate of insecurity in the state.

    Read the text of the governor’s broadcast below:

    BROADCAST BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF ZAMFARA STATE, HON. DR. BELLO MOHAMMED, MON (MATAWALLEN MARADUN) ON THE SECURITY SITUATION AND NEW MEASURES AIMED AT DEFEATING BANDITRY IN THE STATE, MADE ON TUESDAY, 9 TH MARCH 2021

    In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the merciful.

    My dear good people of Zamfara State.

    It is pertinent for me to address you once again on the state of security of our dear state.

    As you may recall, it was early morning, at about 1 a.m, on Friday 26 th February 2021, when a group of bandits attacked Government Girls Junior Secondary Schoool, Jangebe, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of the state and abducted 279 schoolgirls.

    This sad episode shook the people of Zamfara State, our fellow Nigerians, and the entire world. It again brought to the global attention the type of security challenges our state and many others in the north were battling with and brought to the fore the urgent need to take further steps to deal with the situation comprehensively.

    We have already secured the release of all the 279 abducted students, hale and hearty. They have all been reunited with members of their families.

    Following this development, l undertook a four-day working visit to Abuja to brief Mr President and other critical stakeholders on security. As a fall out of my discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari and security high commands in Abuja, it was resolved that six thousand additional troops are to be deployed to the state to complement the current efforts by the security forces in the state.The troops will soon arrive in the state for their operations.

    As you may recall, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security forces to shoot on sight anyone found in possession of AK 47 without permission.

    You may also recall that Zamfara State has been declared by the national security council as a “no-fly zone” in addition to banning of all mining activities in the state.

    Again, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, has agreed to a timeframe within which the recalcitrant bandits should accept our peace truce and surrender their weapons to the government.

    As you are aware, the peace initiative of my administration has recorded a number of successes which include disarmament and recovery of weapons from the repentant bandits, securing the release of hundreds of kidnapped persons, opening of markets, and resumption of other economic activities across the state, and reducing the wave of attacks and killings of our innocent people, most especially in the rural communities.

    Even though we are enjoying relative peace as a result of the dialogue and reconciliation programme, many bandits have refused to key into the programme and elected to sustain their attacks and other nefarious activities against our communities.

    The government has equally observed that there is sabotage by some unscrupulous elements, both within and outside the state. It is also observed that informants are becoming rampant and their callous activities undetected due to some of our people’s attitude of indifference.

    As a further push to bring to an end the activities of the recalcitrant bandits so as to bring lasting peace to the state, the government has decided to take the following measures:

    i. The recalcitrant bandits have been given two months from today within which to embrace the peace process and surrender their weapons to the government;

    ii. All political actors are hereby advised to desist from any acts capable of endangering the state’s security, as security agencies have been directed to monitor the activities of all the political actors and take appropriate action against the violators;

    iii. Traditional rulers and Local Government Councils’ sole administrators are hereby directed to always remain in their respective domains to monitor the influx of any suspicious characters.

    iv. Conveyance of more than two persons on a motorbike is hereby banned with immediate effect. Security agents are directed to arrest and arraign the violators of this order for prosecution.

    v. Government also prohibits the movements of a large number of motorbikes in all the nooks and crannies of the state. Security forces are hereby directed to ensure total compliance.

    vi. Government observed, with dismay, the persistence of the activities of some yansakai, despite the banning of such vigilante groups. This order still remains in force.

    While government appreciates the role being played by members of the press in our efforts to bring lasting peace to our state, we have observed with great dismay the activities of some few media organizations in promoting fake news, causing psychological trauma and panic among our people.

    The government is therefore calling on such media organizations that publish or air news or opinions concerning the security situation in the state without proper cross-checking and balancing of their reports before going to press to desist from such professional misconduct.

    Government is not unaware of some unscrupulous elements, particularly among the political class, who regularly sponsor some social media handlers to create various social media accounts, including cloning some reputable media organizations, using them to publish fake news.

    The government will no longer tolerate such unethical conduct and will deal decisively with anyone found in this act.

    My dear people of Zamfara State, the primary responsibility of government is to secure the lives and property of the citizenry. All the measures we are putting in place are with a view to securing our state and putting behind us the dark period of banditry and other related crimes.

    I wish to appreciate the endurance, untiring support, and cooperation of the entire people of the state in our efforts to end banditry and to other government policies and programs. I thank you immensely for your continuous prayers and goodwill.

    Thank you all and wassalamu alaikum.

  • I can resign as governor if that will bring peace in Zamfara – Matawalle

    I can resign as governor if that will bring peace in Zamfara – Matawalle

    Governor Bello Matawalle has said he is not power drunk and can resign as governor of Zamfara State if that will return peace.

    Matawalle stated this on Wednesday in a monitored programme on Channels Television when responding to a question on if he was intimidated by the Federal Government’s declaration of a ‘No-Fly Zone’ in Zamfara.

    He said: “I am ready to accept any solution that will bring security to my state.

    “I am not intimidated. If I know that my resigning as a governor will make the people sleep with their two eyes closed, I can resign. I am ready to do what will bring security. I am not power-hungry. I have been having a sleepless night to protect the people of Zamfara State.”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, had on Tuesday said President Buhari approved the declaration “No-Fly Zone” in Zamfara, as part of efforts to tackle the security challenges in the state.

    Matawalle noted that while he has no grievance regarding the order, he was however disappointed that the National Security Council did not consult him before making the declaration.

    The governor also stated that the ‘No-Fly Zone’ order is not the same as declaring a state of emergency.

    He argued that the flight ban was supposed to have been extended to some other states seeing that the security challenges faced in Zamfara were also affecting many states in the northern part of the country.

  • Jangede abduction: Matawalle orders closure of all boarding schools in Zamfara

    Jangede abduction: Matawalle orders closure of all boarding schools in Zamfara

    Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of all boarding schools in the state.

    The directive was triggered by the abduction of more than 300 students from Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, in the early hours of Friday.

    “As we are making efforts to strengthen security around our schools, I have directed the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools across the State,” Matawalle said in an evening broadcast.

    The kidnapping is the latest in a series of attacks, carried out by bandits, on schools across the country’s North.

    On February 17, bandits kidnapped 41 students and staff of the Government Science Secondary, Kagara, Niger State.

    The Kagara abductees are yet to be returned.

    Matawalle, in his evening broadcast, assured the parents of the abducted students that the government will do everything in its power to secure their freedom.

    “Currently, police helicopters and other search and rescue operatives have been deployed to the area,” he said. “Members of the public, and most especially the parents and guardians, would be kept informed of developments with regard to this all-important mission.”

  • Negotiating with bandits not a sign of failure – Zamfara Governor

    Negotiating with bandits not a sign of failure – Zamfara Governor

    Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle on Monday said negotiating with bandits is not a sign of failure.

    He disclosed this at the Government House in Gusau while receiving some repentant bandits who surrendered their weapons and embraced his administration’s peace deal.

    Governor Matawalle believes the only way to put a stop to the current insecurity in the state is to dialogue with the bandits.

    He also described as unfortunate the thinking of some politicians who regarded the peace initiative as a failure, arguing that every war ends on the dialogue table.

    “It is not a failure or thing of failure for someone to initiate dialogue. Nowhere in the world is succeeding without coming to the table to sit down and negotiate.

    “Just for today, the weapons we have here show and indicate the successes we have recorded because leaving this kind of dangerous weapons in the bush can create a lot of havoc.

    “By bringing them to the security agencies, we have reduced their capacity and capability. Allowing these weapons to carry their weapons round to communities, cross-border to other states, that is what has made Nigeria be in the hot seat as of today,” he said.

    Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, commended the state government for the peace initiative, noting that it is achieving the desired result.

    He however called on other bandits to make up their minds and surrender their weapons for peace to reign in the state.

    “This is an indication that the peace process is steadily moving and the message of peace is sinking into the population,” he said.

    “With this epoch-making event, we believe that citizens of Zamfara State and residents will have relief. The quantum of weapons taken today is sufficient leverage in our peace-making efforts.

    “I want to use this opportunity to call on all other weapons that are still undecided to a cue from the process today and submit their firearms,” he added.

    Earlier on February 8, eight repentant bandits embraced the amnesty deal and surrendered their weapons to the Zamfara State Government.

    The weapons including AK-47 rifles, General Multipurpose Machine Gun (GPMG), Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG), and several ammunitions were surrendered at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital.

  • Four Northern governors visit Makinde over Shasha crisis [+ Photos]

    Four Northern governors visit Makinde over Shasha crisis [+ Photos]

    Some governors from the North on Monday visited Governor Seyi Makinde, their Oyo counterpart, over the recent ethnic clash at Shasha area of Ibadan, the state capital.

    The governors, who visited Makinde, are Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abubakar Bello (Niger) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara).

    The governors arrived at Ibadan around 7:03 pm and went into a closed-door meeting.

    There has been tension in the state following the clash between Hausa and Yoruba traders at Shasa market.

    Daily Trust reports that about 20 people were buried on Sunday in the aftermath of the crisis.

    Also, about 5,000 Hausa traders, women and children displaced by the violence are still taking refuge at the residence of the Sarkin Shasa, Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in Ibadan.

  • Matawalle responds to allegations of dashing Zamfara bandits vehicles

    Matawalle responds to allegations of dashing Zamfara bandits vehicles

    Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has responded to allegations of gifting vehicles to bandits in the state.

    Recall that a former Local Government Chairman in the state, Abubakar Maradun had earlier made the allegation against the Governor, saying he supplied Hilux vehicles to bandits which they used to attack innocent residents.

    He said the bandits used two of the vehicles in an attack on Janbako community which led to the death of ten people.

    Maradun said, “They went to that village in two of the Hilux vehicles given to them by the Zamfara State Government. One of the vehicles broke down and was abandoned by the bandits.

    “These bandits have been using the vehicles to kidnap, kill and rape innocent people and the press has been silent,” he added.

    Reacting to the allegation, the Special Adviser to Governor Bello Matawalle on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Zailani Baffa, described it as wicked.

    He, however, admitted that the Governor did donate vehicles, adding that they were distributed to all the security agencies in the state.

    He said, “These vehicles were duly distributed to all security agencies in the state under the supervision of the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police.

    “The beneficiaries included the military, the police, the customs and excise, the immigration services, the NDLEA, the NSCDC, the FRSC, among others.”

    His words were corroborated by the Governor while reacting to the allegation via his official Twitter handle.

    “The said vehicles, 200 of them were donated to security agencies in the state to boost their morale in tackling insurgency,” Matawalle tweeted.

    He described the allegation as “a display of quackery and sheer mischief targeted at disabusing the minds of law-abiding and patriotic citizens of the state.”

  • Gov. Matawalle’s appointee slumps, dies at Yerima’s daughter’s wedding

    Gov. Matawalle’s appointee slumps, dies at Yerima’s daughter’s wedding

    The Zamfara State Chairman of the State Local Government Service Commission, Dr Mallami Yandoto, is dead.

    Yandoto died a few minutes after Senator Ahmed Yerima’s daughter’s wedding in Sokoto State, Saturday afternoon.

    It was gathered that the death occurred immediately after the wedding ceremony when the guests were rushing to have lunch, when the chairman slumped down and died.

    It was also learnt that immediately Yandoto slumped, he was rushed to a Sokoto Specialist hospital where he was confirmed dead by the medical experts.

    He attended Tsafe township primary school between 1969 to 1976, then proceeded to Government Teachers college in Tsafe from where he went to the Ahamadu Bello university, Zaria where he got a degree in law between 1986 to 1988.

    Yandoto worked as a primary school teacher in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state before he was made a legal officer in Warri Refinery and petrochemical company limited.

    He, however, got an appointment as the Executive Chairman, Zamfara State Independent Electoral Commission and later was promoted to the position of the state Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    In 2015, he was the governorship running mate to Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. The PDP, however, lost the election.

    But when Bello Mohammed Matawalle assumed office, he appointed him the Executive Chairman, Zamfara state Local Government Service Commission.

  • Gov. Matawalle proposes one-week extensive prayer to end banditry in Zamfara

    Gov. Matawalle proposes one-week extensive prayer to end banditry in Zamfara

    Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has called on residents to commence one-week of extensive prayers to seek God’s intervention to end armed banditry and other crimes in the state.

    A press statement signed by the governor’s Press Secretary, Jamilu Iliyasu, which was made available to journalists in Gusau on Sunday said the governor made the plea when the 17 emirs in the state came to condole with him over the death of the state’s PDP Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Mallaha.

    The statement said the governor noted that “his administration is making concerted efforts to bring an end to the menace of armed banditry, kidnappings and other criminal activities in the state through the stick and carrot approach.

    “He said that there is need for persistent prayers in order to seek God’s divine intervention.”

    The governor explained that as traditional rulers who are closer to the people, the emirs should have a lot to support the government through collaborative effort aimed at securing the state.

    He, therefore, directed the traditional rulers to mobilise Imams and other Islamic Clerics to embark on the special prayers at mosques and other preaching sessions for an end to the menace and thanked them for the condolence.

    Leading his colleagues, the Chairman of the state’s Council of Chiefs, who is also the Emir of Anka, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmed, said they were at the Government House to register their condolences to the Government and people of the state over the death of Alhaji Ibrahim Mallaha, as well as an elderstatesman, Sen. Yushau Anka, who both died separately last week.

    The Emir said late Ibrahim Mallaha lived a very simple life worthy of emulation by other politicians and prayed for Almighty Allah to forgive all his shortcomings and grant his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    Other callers at the Government House to pay their condolences included Zamfara State Islamic Clerics under the auspices of the Zamfara State Council of Ulamas led by its Chairman, Malam Abubakar Aliyu, and the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led by its Chairman, Comrade Bashir Mafara.

  • I need Buhari’s support to make my state amongst richest in Nigeria, PDP governor declares

    I need Buhari’s support to make my state amongst richest in Nigeria, PDP governor declares

    The governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle has said that the state would be among the richest in the country if President Muhammadu Buhari supports his plan.

    The governor made this statement at the Head Office of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Abuja, saying poverty was a way to pervasive sickness.

    According to the governor, his government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that earnings of Zamfara State and residents improve.

    He also said that they are building facilities at the grassroots so everybody can access primary healthcare. He said that all general hospitals in the state have been equipped with new ambulances and health equipment to improve the secondary healthcare system.

    Matawalle revealed that all 147 primary health centres in the state are being built in every ward in the state, saying that his government is ready to welcome the participation of NHIS in Zamfara.

    The executive secretary of NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo assured the governor of the agency’s support.

    He further commended the governor for his effort in keeping the state against bandits which he said discouraged professionals from the state.

    Recall that on Monday, Matawalle presented gold bars and an assortment of precious stones, products of Zamfara to President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • Politicians exploiting insecurity for personal gains – Matawalle

    Politicians exploiting insecurity for personal gains – Matawalle

    Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, says politicians are responsible for the insecurity challenges bedeviling the country.

    The governor stated this on Tuesday when he spoke at the Special Army Super Camp 4 in Faskari town.

    Matawalle said, “We, the politicians, are to be blamed for the intractable security challenges bedeviling our communities. It is evident that some politicians exploit insecurity for political gains. These unscrupulous politicians would hardly commend the military for their successes at the battlefronts.

    “However, they would be eager to rush to the media to report attacks by bandits or other miscreants”.

    “For these crop of politicians, politics is not about genuine commitment to the wellbeing of the people; it is all about power and nothing more.”

    He, however, maintained that safeguarding and ensuring security was not just the responsibility of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the governors, the service chiefs but that of every patriotic citizen.

    TheNewsGuru had earlier reported that the President met with the representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and security chiefs inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

    The meeting was aimed at tackling the deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, especially in the North-West and the North-East regions.