Letter appointing suspected terrorist Hadejia as SA was forged — Gov Lawal

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has strongly denied appointing suspected terrorist and gunrunner, Bashir Hadejia as a Special Adviser in his administration.

Hadejia was arrested last week on charges of treason and subversion against the state. Previously, Hadejia served as a special adviser to the current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, during Matawalle’s tenure as Governor of Zamfara State.

Following Hadejia’s arrest, a letter dated October 27, 2023, allegedly signed by the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Mal Abubakar M. Nakwada, circulated online, claiming that the state government had appointed the suspected gunrunner.

However, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Governor Lawal categorically dismissed the claims, asserting that the purported appointment letter was fake.

“Let me make a categorical statement here. I did not appoint Hadejia as a Special Adviser,” the governor stated.

He further questioned the authenticity of the letter, noting discrepancies in the letterhead and date. “We issued a statement that we had nothing to do with that; it was a forged letter.”

Governor Lawal emphasised his administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability, challenging anyone to provide evidence that such an appointment was ever officially announced.

“Whenever I appoint advisers, I usually tell the media that I have appointed X, Y, Z in different positions. I challenge anybody to show me where we made that kind of statement,” he added.

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