The All Progressives Congress, APC, Zamfara State chapter, has threatened to sue the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over allegations that the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, was involved in kidnapping incidents in the state.
The party’s spokesperson, Yusuf Gusau, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned recent claims made by Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Governor Dauda Lawal.
The party described the allegations as baseless, defamatory and politically motivated.
The statement came in the wake of an emergency meeting of the APC State Working Committee, SWC, chaired by Tukur Danfulani, which reviewed the remarks attributed to Kaura.
“The lies being peddled by the Zamfara State Government, especially against Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, are not only misleading but must be investigated,”; the statement read.
According to the party, Kaura’s comments, especially those made in a recent online video interview is “character assassination”; and “open insults”; targeted at party chieftains including Matawalle and former Governor Abdulaziz Yari, now senator representing Zamfara West.
The statement further said that Kaura falsely claimed that the December 11, 2020 abduction of over 300 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in neighboring Katsina State, was the result of a conspiracy involving Matawalle. Kaura also accused Matawalle of collecting N300 million from then-Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina to facilitate the students’ release, but only handed N30 million to the kidnappers.
“The APC, which vigorously tackled banditry during Matawalle’s administration, takes strong exception to these falsehoods and has directed its legal team to file a lawsuit.
“Kaura must provide evidence to support these serious allegations, particularly regarding the 2020 Kankara abduction and other alleged ‘prearranged’ kidnappings,”; the party said.
The party also challenged Kaura to provide proof relating to other high-profile abductions, including:
The abduction of over 270 female students from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe (February 26, 2021) Victims from the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura, Zamfara State.
The APC noted that under Matawalle’s tenure, many of these victims were rescued swiftly and support was consistently provided to affected communities.
It listed towns such as Gwaram, Kanoma, Kaya, Faru, Janbako, Lilo, and Anka among others as evidence of his administration’s proactive approach to security challenges.
