Bello Mohammed Matawalle, a former assistant to the Minister of State for Defense, has accused his former principal of working with security personnel to kill alleged adversaries, defend supporters, and enable transactions with infamous bandit commanders while he served as governor of Zamfara State.
According to reports, Matawalle was governor of Zamfara until 2023. In August of that year, Bola Tinubu named him Minister of State for Defense.
Musa Muhammad Kamara, better known as Musa Kamarawa, made the accusations in an interview with the Hausa-language media outlet rHi Hausa.
When Matawalle was the governor of Zamfara State, Kamara described himself as his former Senior Special Assistant.
“Musa Muhammad Kamara is my name. He declared, “I am a citizen of Zamfara State and a former SSA to Dr. Bello Matawalle, the current Minister of Defense and former governor of Zamfara.”
According to Kamara, Matawalle collaborated with police to kill people he deemed adversaries while protecting others.
According to Kamara, “he has police officers working for him who kill whoever he orders and spare whoever he chooses.”
Kamara claims that his troubles started in 2021 when security personnel invited him due to claims that the Zamfara State Government had purchased cars for criminals.
According to him, the allegations came when a preacher named Mallam Murtala Asada purportedly revealed that government officials purchased cars for bandit leaders including Halilu Sububu and Bello Turji.
As part of an engagement approach at the time, Kamara claimed, “I explained to them that I’m SSA to the Governor and indeed the governor bought vehicles and gave it to them.”
He added that another car was purchased when one of the vehicles started to malfunction.
He claimed, “I was the one who got them another Hilux.”
Throughout the interview, Kamara asked Matawalle to publicly refute the accusations under oath and repeatedly swore by the Holy Qur’an to support his assertions.
“I swear by the Holy Qur’an that I’m speaking the truth,” he declared, adding that if the assertions were untrue, Matawalle should likewise swear on the Qur’an.
Kamara further claimed that Matawalle conspired with members of the Nigeria Police Force to target him once he started speaking in public.
“He plotted with the police. Kamara said, “They sent them on errands to kill whoever he wanted to kill and free whoever he wanted to be free.”
He claimed that the prosecution’s continuous failure to present witnesses in court amounted to “media trials” in the cases brought against him.
Kamara refuted rumors that he was still connected to the Zamfara State Government or its current leadership.
“I have not returned since the day I left the Government House when Matawalle was governor,” he declared, adding that he has no affiliation with the current administration.
Additionally, Kamara claimed that Matawalle used federal institutions to covertly end a prosecution against him.
According to him, the case was moved to the Federal High Court in Abuja and ultimately failed because there was insufficient evidence.
“The case was dismissed because there was no evidence and no witness,” he stated.
Kamara said he still worries about his safety even after the lawsuit was dismissed, claiming that influential people want him to remain silent.
He declared, “They only want to kill me and keep it quiet; they do not want justice.”
Matawalle has not publicly addressed the accusations as of the time this report was filed.
