"Matawalle Vindicated": Zamfara Governor Slammed over ‘U-Turn’ on Alleged Dialogue with Bandits

• The Northern Security and Integrity Forum (NSIF) has criticised Zamfara governor Dauda Lawal for allegedly reversing his stance on negotiating with bandits
• The group accused Governor Lawal of hypocrisy, claiming his new strategy mimics the same peace efforts he condemned under former Governor Bello Matawalle
• NSIF praised Matawalle’s earlier approach as visionary and said it plans to submit a dossier on the crisis to national security authorities and the Senate

Gusau, Zamfara state - The Northern Security and Integrity Forum (NSIF) has slammed Zamfara state governor, Dauda Lawal, describing his handling of the state’s decade-long banditry crisis as a “shameful U-turn”.

According to the NSIF, Governor Lawal’s alleged recent move to reconcile with known armed groups confirms that the much-criticised strategy of his predecessor, Bello Matawalle, was visionary, pragmatic, and morally justifiable.

The group made this known in a statement signed and released by its national president, Dr. Sulaiman Ali Mustapha, on Friday, June 20.

Banditry: Gov Lawa accused of hypocrisy

The NSIF accused Governor Lawal of hypocrisy and political grandstanding, alleging that his handling of the insecurity has cost thousands of lives in Zamfara and neighbouring states.

“Governor Dauda Lawal has now become the living embodiment of the phrase: ‘politics over lives.’ For years, he demonised former Governor Bello Matawalle’s approach to banditry, portraying it as weak, immoral, and counterproductive,” the statement reads.

“Yet today, after more than 20,000 civilians and over 500 security personnel have been killed according to Amnesty International and other credible conflict monitoring bodies, Dauda Lawal is now doing exactly what he once ridiculed — sitting down with the attackers and preaching dialogue.”

The forum also condemned an alleged peace meeting hosted in Katsina and Zamfara with bandit leader Ado Aleru, describing it as a “slap in the face of every Nigerian whose life was shattered by terrorism”.

“These meetings are not acts of peace — they are acts of surrender. It shows Dauda Lawal is out of ideas, overwhelmed, and returning shamefully to a method he publicly mocked," the NSIF said, asking the governor to apologise to the people of Zamfara and Nigeria.

NSIF praises Matawalle

While describing former governor Matawalle as “a man ahead of his time,” the forum argued that the current administration’s quiet embrace of his controversial strategy vindicates his tenure.

“It is now obvious that Bello Matawalle deserves not just vindication but canonisation. He pursued peace in the face of criticism, he engaged with facts rather than cheap political populism, and he held the line when others were shouting for war without a plan,” the statement reads.

The coalition said it would be forwarding a dossier of its findings on Zamfara’s banditry policy failures to the National Security Adviser and the Senate Committee on Army for further scrutiny.

NAF eliminates over 20 terrorists in Zamfara

In another report, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) announced recently that more than 20 terrorists were neutralised and at least 21 motorcycles were destroyed in an air interdiction mission conducted on 31 May 2025.

The operation, carried out under Operation FANSAN YAMMA, targeted a terrorist enclave south of Mai-Galma in Maru local government area, Zamfara state.

According to NAF spokesman, Ehimen Ejodame, the strike was launched following credible intelligence that a large group of armed bandits were planning a coordinated assault on vulnerable communities. Intelligence reports further revealed that the bandits had killed farmers and abducted civilians, including women and children.

Source: Legit.ng