Zamfara govt raises alarm over ‘abduction’ of Gov Lawal’s aide

…Zamfara APC exonerates Matawalle

The Zamfara State Government has expressed serious concern over abduction and harassment of opposition figures in the state using federal might.

The state government, in a statement on Wednesday issued by Sulaiman Bala Idris, spokesperson to Zamfara state governor, Dauda Lawal, noted that the “Zamfara State Government is left with no other option but to bring to public notice how the Minister of State for Defence has used the office of the National Security Adviser to harass and intimidate the opposition.”

The statement added that it “received a shocking and distressing message that Saleem Abubakar, a Technical Assistant in the Office of the Zamfara State Governor, was abducted in Abuja yesterday.

“The illegal abduction was said to be carried out by a special forces unit from the office of the National Security Adviser.”

According to the statement, the abduction was allegedly syndicated through the office of the NSA. 

“The abductors, without an arrest warrant, took Saleem to an unknown location, which we later found out they moved him to different facilities to cover their tracks. 

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“This is a perilous precedent that all Nigerians must strongly condemn. No amount of desperation is worth compromising the neutrality of the security. 

“We cannot afford to fold our arms and watch the highest security office of the country being used as a tool of political persecution. 

“We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to call the office of the National Security Adviser to order. Such reckless actions are detrimental to Nigeria’s reputation.”

The statement further noted that if the abductors had any problem with the governor’s aide, he should be charged to court instead. 

“We are closely monitoring this case of federal impunity and will follow it to a logical conclusion, ensuring that justice is served.”

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, while reacting to the allegations, absolved the Minister of State for Defense, Bello Matawalle, of complicity in the arrest of Saleem.

The party, in a statement issued on Thursday by its state publicity secretary, Mallam Yusuf Idris, said the suspect was alleged to have links to terrorism and cyber crime, and was arrested by the Special Forces Unit under the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

The APC noted that “it always baffles the Nigerian community that anything that negatively touches the Zamfara State government is immediately and directly linked to the Minister either directly by the governor or by his cronies.”