Isa Umar, Abuja
Following an attack on Saturday night at Maradun, the hometown of the immediate past governor of Zamfara State and Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has been asked to investigate the attack and caution the alleged foot-dragging by the state government on the matter.
According to a statement made available to PACESETTER, an indigene of Zamfara state who wished to remain anonymous wondered why the attack was carried out within the neighborhood of the Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle’s hometown, asking “could it be that Matawalle and the Chief of Defence staff’s recent activities in the North west against bandits and terrorists has greatly hurt a cabal that has resolved for revenge?”
“A situation where criminals are sponsored to attack a community is highly condemnable,” the anonymous source claimed, a claim that cannot be independently verified by PACESETTER.
According to the statement, another native who gave his name as Mohammed Dogo, a retired school teacher said “…the attack is most unfortunate as 2 persons lost their lives and 5 villagers were taken away”.
A Premium Times report recorded that the attack resulted in the killing of two persons and the abduction of about 40 people.
Residents said the abducted persons in the incident at Janboka, a community in the Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, are mostly women and children. The latest attack came a week after the terrorists released 10 abducted persons after collecting a N10 million ransom, residents said.
Recall that there has been bad blood between the current governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal and his predecessor, Bello Matawalle, making the political landscape in Zamfara State increasingly tumultuous.
This is as the two leaders publicly exchanged severe accusations and counterclaims, particularly on television platforms, raising the stakes of their conflict.
Matawalle appeared on Channels TV last Tuesday, apparently in response to the allegations made against him on the same station the previous week.
In a dramatic escalation, Matawalle not only refuted the charges but also challenged Governor Lawal to swear with the Holy Quran to prove his innocence regarding accusations of involvement in banditry.
“I was the only governor to swear on the Holy Quran that I have no hand in banditry,” Matawalle asserted.
“I challenged all politicians, including General Ali Gusau and Dauda Lawal, to do the same. None of them could take the oath, and if they don’t take the oath, that means they are part of it.”