Exclusive: Banditry: How Gov Matawalle Fuels Zamfara’s Recent Killings

…Suspended Emirs Used as Scapegoats 

…As Zamfara Govt Insists it has not Abandoned Peace Deal with Bandits 

By Maryam Musa

Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle assumed leadership of Zamfara State when insecurity and killings mainly by armed Fulani bandits was at its peak. It took him few months to convince the ravaged citizens of his state that though insecurity exists but the high rate of killings and kidnappings then were largely as a result of the mismanagement of the situation by the government of his predecessor, Hon. Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar.

Matawalle had then understood that even as the ceremonial chief security officer of his state he doesn’t have the powers to dictate the approach of solving the security imbroglio bedeviling his state as virtually all such powers of engaging the military and the police is with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Matawalle also rightly understands that the military did not have the capacity and the needed intelligence to crush and eliminate the large number of armed bandits that are terrorizing his state. He realized after taking over as Governor that the population of the bandits is not only large but that their sophistication, particularly in possessing dangerous weapons, has been underrated by government.

As such, the only painful option he adopted in securing the lives and properties of his people, which has significantly worked, is by reaching out to the Fulani bandits, pacifying those that are willing to lay down their arms and extracting commitment for peace and total ceasefire.

These have hitherto been achieved by Mr. Matawalle with over 80 per cent success. Consequently, farmers were able not only to go back to their farms but to farm with ease and without the fear of attacks. Kidnappings and other acts of banditry have almost disappeared during that period on the major highways of the state and within routes that were hitherto overwhelmed by the notorious bandits.

As Zamfara citizens began to enjoy and celebrate the relative security and preservation of human lives through the commitment and initiative of Governor Matawalle and rightly without any additional financial support from the federal government that will supplement the huge security expenditure by the Zamfara State Government, the Governor probably out of frustrations or he was misled gradually began to violate a number of understanding he freely reached with the bandits in return for peace.

It was as a result of such uncertainty and threats by the bandits to resume and escalate their campaign of terror that Governor Matawalle pleaded and invited Sheikh Gumi with his team to Zamfara to pacify the armed bandits and to once again broker another agreement that can guarantee permanent peace and full cessation of hostilities.

By inviting Sheikh Gumi and as he rightly stated during media briefing at the Gusau Government House, Governor Matawalle is fully convinced then that Sheikh Gumi enjoys the confidence and tremendous respect of the bandits. Before the Zamfara visit and as dangerous as it is, Sheikh Gumi had visited and interacted with many bandits in the forest of Kaduna State all in search for peace and to ensure a halt in all acts of banditry and kidnappings.

It was the success Sheikh Gumi is achieving that prompted Mr. Matawalle to desperately seek for his intervention which the Sheikh graciously accepted.

DESERT HERALD can authoritatively report that unfolding developments after Sheikh Gumi’s weeklong visit, the risk he took in visiting so many dreaded forests in Zamfara suggests that Governor Matawalle only seeks for the publicity aspect of Gumi’s visit to his state and as an opportunity to showcase an over exaggerated achievements on security and the Ruga initiative in his home town of Maradun that has so far cost billions of naira without commensurate result.

What Sheikh Gumi met at Zamfara was a fragile arrangement that can best be described as a time bomb. Most of the leaders of the bandits, including the notorious Turji, have lamented to Sheikh Gumi how the Zamfara government failed them after series of truce and how they continued to give the government the benefit of doubt by preserving the peace.

Sheikh Gumi had during mediation talks with the bandits managed to convince them that he will not be part of arrangement that will address any personal or selfish demands to the government.

The respected Sheikh also convinced them that as a mark of gesture and goodwill for his presence and intervention they should maintain the existing ceasefire brokered by Mr. Matawalle even as they have initially vowed to resume hostilities unless Governor Matawalle fully addressed their mutually agreed agreement. They accepted.

And in addition they also agreed with the following suggestions that were recommended to them by the Saudi trained scholar in Islamic jurisprudence for onward transmission to government for action.

It should be noted that prior to the dangerous forest trips by Sheikh Gumi and his team across Zamfara State, Governor Matawalle has agreed and promised in principle to implement any genuine, reasonable and legitimate demands of the aggrieved Fulani bandits in exchange for peace. That is even the reason why Gumi accepted to go to Zamfara.

While in the forests of Zamfara and during several discussions with bandits commanders, Sheikh Gumi agreed on the following terms with the bandits and pleaded with them to give him one to two months to formalize with the Zamfara State Government for start of implementation which they agreed and assured him that during that period nothing will happen.

Having initially gotten the mandate and go ahead of Governor Matawalle to open discussion with the armed Fulanis for lasting peace, Sheikh Gumi agreed with them on the following terms, which were later conveyed to the Governor by the Sheikh and his team:-

 a) That government will arrange a rehabilitation program for them, convert them into forest rangers with monthly stipends while they will take full responsibility of guiding the entire forests.  The agreement includes planting of trees to control desert encroachment and deforestation;

b) That to ease their work, Governor Matawalle will provide operational vehicles, motor cycles for them with allowances for fuel. Under that arrangement it was agreed that they will be provided with uniforms as means of identification and control;

 c) That Fulanis should not be attacked by local vigilantes or any other person whenever they come to town for their legitimate businesses;

 d) That government will provide teachers for them and their families to be teaching them especially about their religion (Islam) and that of western education;

 e) That if they show total commitment, government will extend the program further by building hospitals, schools for them;

 f) That provision of potable water for their consumption and that of the few animals should be prioritized immediately by the government;

 g) Entrepreneurship training, financial support for farming, cattle raring etc. for them;

 h) That if they show total commitment within one year and without violating the peace treaty, Governor Matawalle will liaise with the federal government to see the possibility of employing some of them into the Nigeria Civil Defense and to create scholarship programmes for them to pursue education.

All the above were thoroughly discussed and presented to Governor Matawalle by Sheikh Gumi before his team proceeded to Sokoto for the same mission. DESERT HERALD was actively on the entourage through out the peace mission which was widely reported by local and international media. The outcome above has not been discussed with the media and was not made public that time as agreed by both parties due to the sensitivity of the issue and to allow the Governor to decide immediate areas of implementation.

Governor Matawalle had then promised Sheikh Gumi to look into the areas of agreement for immediate implementation but since the Sheikh left Gusau this paper can reveal all efforts to talk to Mr. Matawalle or to remind him on an issue he supposed not to forget was frustrated by the Governor’s lack of response to messages and inability to pick calls.

At a time DESERT HERALD can reveal Sheikh Gumi had to mobilize resources to send teachers to the dreaded forest of Shinkafi so as to reassure the skeptic bandits that the Zamfara government is still working to start implementation of the mutually agreed truce. During that time there was never a single attack or killings even as some of the bandits began to blame Sheikh Gumi for the looming failure of the agreement.

When it became clear to the bandits that Governor Matawalle who initiated the peace move has reneged and has not fulfilled even one out of the agreements with Sheikh Gumi, they began by abducting over 270 school girls in Jengebe.

The crisis has now escalated to full blown insurgency across Zamfara State with the aggrieved Fulanis vowing to kill as much as they can and to stop farming activities this season. So far, they have made good their threat by killing many innocent people across the troubled state with Governor Matawalle and the federal government the military to be precise clearly incapacitated to protect lives and properties. Many properties were also burnt down in a campaign of terror never witnessed since the emergence of Mr. Matawalle as Governor.

Pundits lamented that Governor Matawalle has taken the wrong decision that will only increase the sufferings of his impoverished people and that many more innocent people will continue to die in the hands of the notorious bandits that are not only on drugs but ignorant of their own religion.

The people of Zamfara generally blamed their Governor for the recent setback and escalation of attacks and killings in the state and said in view of the painful reality that the military and police cannot stop the killings of innocent people and the destruction of their properties by the bandits coupled with the visible reality that many cannot farm this farming season due to the open threats by the bandits the Governor’s initial option of dialogue with the bandits which was reinforced and solidified by Sheikh Gumi and which has considerably worked during the last two years remains the best option in the circumstances.

Zamfara people described Governor Matawalle’s recent body language that they should protect themselves against the bandits even when he knows very well that they don’t have the weapons and sophistication to do so “is reckless, irresponsible and will only incite and provoke the bandits to carry more attacks on innocent and vulnerable targets” as they are freely doing recently.

“The best way to deal with a situation like this since we know very well that the military cannot stop them whenever they are on rampage to kill and destroy properties is to temporarily adopt Sheikh Gumi’s approach and advise by way of accepting dialogue with them and at whatever cost in the interest of our people, their lives and dignity. Anything apart from that will never be the solution. I believe the Governor is doing his best. May be he is frustrated but he shouldn’t. It is not time for blame game or playing politics with the issue.

I can assure you many more will die of hunger this year because it is becoming clear that if this is not resolved immediately majority of our communities cannot farm this farming season. This issue should be taken as an emergency. We must not think the way the bandits think. They have no conscience. They don’t value human lives. We must pacify them at whatever cost to save innocent lives”, former Governor Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi told DESERT HERALD.

Largely as a result of Mr. Matawalle’s new tactics in dealing with insurgency and banditry in his state which has proven to be ineffective, damaging and with avoidable casualties, attacks of the last two months have affected many homes and have further worsened the crisis of poverty and hunger in the state. Conservatively, it is estimated that no fewer than 250 innocent lives were killed by the Fulani bandits during the last two months with the recent one in Zurmi District about the worse.

Hundreds of motorcycle-riding gunmen known locally as bandits penultimate Thursday through Friday raided the villages of Kadawa, Kwata, Maduba, Ganda Samu, Saulawa and Askawa in the Zurmi district killing over 90 people. They shot residents, attacked farmers on their fields and pursued others who fled to escape the assaults. Out of the total number, residents said 39 more bodies had been recovered and buried in the neighbouring town of Dauran.

“We recovered 28 additional bodies and 11 more from the villages and buried them here,” said Dauran resident, Haruna Abdulkarim.

“It was dangerous to conduct the funeral there because the bandits are harbouring in the Zurmi forest and could return to attack the funeral,” said another resident, Musa Arzika, who reported the same death toll.

Villages in the Zurmi district have been repeatedly raided by bandits, and local residents blocked a major highway last three weeks, calling on the authorities to end the attacks.

Zamfara in particular have fallen prey to gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers who raid villages, killing and kidnapping residents in addition to stealing livestock after looting and burning homes.

The criminals have begun to focus on raiding schools and kidnapping students for ransom.

More than 850 students have been abducted since December but most have been released after ransom payments.

The seemingly helpless Governor Matawalle has in a state broadcast penultimate Friday, urged residents to defend themselves against “killer bandits” even as the embattled Governor knows very well that his poor citizens who cannot even afford three square meals per day and cannot go to their farms did not have any means of defending themselves from the aggression of hundreds of youths that are highly armed with sophisticated weapons.

But Governor Matawalle in a press release last week challenging and condemning a particular report of DESERT HERALD which was published after Sheikh Gumi’s visit to the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Catriona Laing denied abandoning his peace deal with the bandits.

The statement said that “the world knows that Governor Matawalle had not abandoned his pet approach to solving the problem of banditry in the state and has at no point in time announced his withdrawal from the peace accord”. It went further to claim that “Governor Matawalle has since taken the advises proffered by the Sheikh very seriously”.

DESERT HERALD can confirm that the above claims by the Governor as contained in that press release is far from the actual truth. Indeed, it was as a result of the violation of the truce and failure to implement even one out of the agreements stated above (after Gumi’s visit) that resulted in the renewal hostilities that killed over 250 people.

Records were also obtained by DESERT HERALD where Governor Matawalle was contacted and reminded many times through his Whatsapp regarding such sundry issues and that no answer was even given. Also, the recent statewide broadcast by the Governor that citizens should protect themselves from the bandits suggests that he has declared war with the bandits.

The citizens said such public response from a Governor is reckless and will by implication provoke them to carry more attacks on citizens that everybody knows are vulnerable and cannot truly defend themselves. And that is exactly what happens. 

Insiders that are privy to the politics of tackling banditry in Zamfara also faulted the recent suspension of two first class Emirs by Mr. Matawalle. They lamented that the emirs were only used as scapegoats to justify that government is acting. They said most emirs in areas where there is banditry in Zamfara are in a fix.

They are under constant threats from the bandits to cooperate with them or get kill. And having known that the few securities they have cannot protect them in case of bandits attacks they have no option but to be diplomatic and careful in dealing with them.

As they do that to survive and to prevent attacks on their families or community, the government believes they are romancing with the bandits even though one cannot completely rule out the possibility of few criminally minded persons among them that will connive with the criminals. 

According to the UN’s migration agency, IOM report more than 124,000 people have been displaced in Zamfara alone as a result of criminality associated with banditry.

The views of the citizens regarding this ugly, unfortunate but preventable development is synonymous with that of security experts that were interviewed by DESERT HERALD. They are all in agreement that Mr. Matawalle’s recent pronouncements have helped in no small measure in instigating and provoking the bandits to go on rampage and killings spree.

This is coupled with the Governor’s failure to respect and honour the agreement entered into on his behalf by Sheikh Gumi which this paper considered as the major factor that crippled the fragile peace in Zamfara State.

As it is, Governor Matawalle clearly did not have any more idea that can stop the attacks and killings of his people. Even with empty government pronouncements assuring the citizens, everybody in Zamfara knows that if the Governor did not go back to his earlier method of dialogue nobody can guarantee the safety of citizens not to talk of farmers in his state.

So far, many farmers as a warning were killed on their farmlands by the armed Fulani bandits, while starvation is already on the increase in the state.

With the glaring failure of the military and other security agencies to stop the killings of hundreds within two months in Zamfara (despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to shot on site anyone with AK47 riffles) as a result of pure mismanagement of the crisis and violations of the Sheikh Gumi led peace treaty, it remains to be seen the magic Governor Matawalle will adopt apart from dialogue and mediation that can freely allow his people to go back to their farms and to stop the bloodshed. So far, Mr. Matawalle’s undoing has contributed immensely in fuelling and provoking the recent killings in his state.

WHY DID GOVERNOR MATAWALLE FAILED TO DECAMP TO APC ON JUNE 12?

It was widely reported by sections of the media that Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle has concluded arrangements to dump his party the PDP for APC. While it is true that the Governor has contemplated leaving his party, a combination of some factors have made it impossible for the Governor to accept the political suicide of joining the APC.

What are the dilemmas of Governor Matawalle?

Is he still plotting to decamp?

Keep a date with your authoritative DESERT HERALD weekly!