‘You Have Disgraced Us’ —Zamfara Govt Threatens To Sue SaharaReporters For Exposing Gifts To ‘Repentant’ Bandits
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle The Zamfara State Government on Tuesday threatened to sue SaharaReporters over a publication exposing gifts given to repentant bandits by Governor Bello Matawalle. The government made the threat in a statement signed by Nura Ibrahim Zarumi, the state Commissioner for Justice. Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle Zarumi claimed that the publication had caused disgrace to the government but however refused to deny its authenticity. SaharaReporters had exposed how about 15 brand new Hilux vehicles were given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ banditry groups by Governor Matawalle. The governor also approved millions of naira to be given to the ‘repentant’ bandits as compensation. A top military officer told SaharaReporters that the bandits now carry out attacks with some of the vehicles given to them by Matawalle. The officer said, “Those bandits have different groups, so if they say they have repented, the governor will give them a