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Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle
Hundreds of disgruntled women and youths from Zamfara State, on Tuesday, took their protest to the headquarters of the Department of Security Services in Abuja, over heightened insecurity in the state.
The aggrieved persons blamed the immediate-past governor of the state and now Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, for the heightened activities of bandits, which they claimed was a fallout of his alleged romance with them during his administration.
The demonstrators, who arrived in about 12 long buses at 10.15 am, were restricted from accessing the premises of the security agency.
The protest comes one month after the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the state, to allow the fight against banditry to succeed.
Waving placards which read: ‘We are dying’ and ‘DSS, save us from bandits,’ the protesters urged the DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, to intervene.
Addressing journalists, the leader of the demonstrators, Mallam Musa Mahmud, expressed disappointment that President Bola Tinubu had not sacked Matawalle as minister, despite the evidence presented by Governor Dauda Lawal.
Mahmud, who is also the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Akida Forum, pleaded that Matawalle should be probed and not given a soft landing owing to his loyalty to the President.
He said, “The issues here are not just political problems. They are matters of life and death, economic survival and the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Zamfara State that should not be handled lightly.
“We want the DSS to conduct a thorough investigation to save millions of Nigerians and safeguard the integrity of the President and the intelligence community.
“The agency is in the best position to advise President Tinubu to relieve Matawalle of his position, to face an investigative panel and clarify his connections with dangerous individuals like Bello Tagoji, Musa Kamarawa and Ardon Zuru.
“These are not abstract concerns. Zamfara citizens have the right to live free from the constant threat of banditry and violence.
“These issues should be at the forefront of any reasonable Nigerian who means well for the country.”
When contacted, Matawalle’s media aide, Ahmad Dan-Wudil, did not pick up several calls put through to his line and was yet to respond to the message sent to him on the allegations against his principal at the time of going to press.
