The Court of Appeal in Sokoto has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court dismissing an appeal filed by former Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, over the ownership of more than 40 official government vehicles recovered from his residence in 2023.
In June 2023, the Zamfara State Government accused the former governor of illegally taking away official vehicles after losing the general elections. Following a government complaint, police raided Matawalle’s residence and retrieved over 40 vehicles believed to be state property.
The Zamfara State Government had earlier given Matawalle and his deputy five days to return the vehicles, but the directive was ignored. Authorities then sought and obtained a court order, leading to the recovery.
Matawalle, however, challenged the seizure. He approached the Federal High Court in Gusau, which initially ordered that the vehicles be returned to him. He also filed a separate suit, claiming his fundamental right to own property had been breached. But after the case was transferred to the Sokoto division of the Federal High Court, the court dismissed the matter in December 2023, ruling that the vehicles belonged to the state.
Unhappy with the decision, Matawalle filed an appeal. But in a unanimous judgment on August 8, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice A.M. Talba dismissed his appeal.
The court ruled that the police acted within their powers to investigate allegations of crime and that Matawalle failed to provide credible evidence proving his ownership of the vehicles. It therefore affirmed that the vehicles remain the property of the Zamfara State Government.
In a statement, Sulaiman Idris, spokesperson to the Zamfara State Governor, said the latest verdict has put to rest Matawalle’s claims. “The Court of Appeal has affirmed that the decision of the Federal High Court was right and that the vehicles in question are the rightful property of Zamfara State Government,” the statement read.
With the ruling, the long-running legal tussle over the ownership of the vehicles has been settled in favor of the state government.