Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle has dared former National Security Adviser, General Ali Gusau (retd) and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal to publicly swear by the Holy Quran that they have no links to the banditry plaguing Zamfara State and the Northwest.
It will be recalled that the incumbent governor of Zamfara State, Lawal, had earlier asked Mattawalle to resign his position as Minister of State for Defence due to his alleged involvement in banditry.
Reacting during an interview today, Mattawalle dismissed all ties to Bandits, noting that he is the only Governor of Zamfara State who has sworn an oath by the Holy Quran to affirm that he has no ties to bandits or any interest in the criminal activities they carry out in the state.
He said; “Let me remind you, during my term, I was the only governor who swore with the Holy Quran that I have no hands or connection with banditry and that I’m not happy with what is happening. I swore with the Holy Quran that if I’m happy with what is happening, or if I’m part of it or know those doing it, or if I collaborate with them, God should not give me one second of grace.
“And I challenged all the politicians then, including General Ali Gusau and Dauda (Zamfara Governor), to come and do the same, but none of them took the oath. I took the oath because I had a clean mind, and not just that, I ensured that all my councillors, chairmen, and commissioners took the oath before appointments that they had no hand in the criminal activities in the state. Go and check, the record is there.
Mattawalle suggested that those destabilizing the state are politicians.
