By Usman Abdulkadir Taleeki
My column this week will complement last week’s column titled “When Musa Arrives, the Red Sea Must Open. Will It Open for Nigerians?” where I expressed my euphoria about the recent appointment of Christopher Musa to replace the former Minister of Defence, Badaru Mohammed. But that optimism does not last long, especially in light of current developments. As implied by the title of this piece, you can already anticipate my direction, but follow me step by step, and I will take you to a logical conclusion.
The removal of former Defense Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the same man who told BBC Hausa in late November 2025 that bandits hide in forests so dense that even bombs cannot penetrate them, and his replacement with General Christopher Musa, was widely seen as a long-overdue move toward a more competent and decisive security posture.
Yet, this shift is immediately weakened by the decision to retain Bello Matawalle as Minister of State for Defense.
The issue is not simply that Matawalle lacks professional grounding in security affairs. It is that he is dogged by a disturbing trail of serious, specific, and long-standing allegations linking him to the very bandits terrorizing Zamfara and much of the Northwest.
These allegations did not emerge out of nowhere. They originate from different periods, different witnesses, and different contexts, yet they all point in the same direction. They raise serious questions about his conduct as governor and cast doubt on his suitability for any role connected to national security.
A particularly damaging claim came from one of his former senior aides, who in an interview in November 2025 alleged that Matawalle supplied thirty-six brand new Hilux vehicles to major bandit commanders during his tenure as governor and maintained contact with them even after moving to the federal cabinet.
The same aide stated that Matawalle routinely bought stolen cattle from the bandits at discounted rates. These were not vague accusations; they came with dates, locations, and names from someone who had worked directly with him.
And this is only one strand of the story. His successor, Governor Dauda Lawal, accused him of giving sanctuary to bandit leaders inside the government house and turning state resources into channels for paying ransoms. According to these accounts, ransom payments moved through official channels during Matawalle’s time in office.
The allegations were so weighty that Governor Lawal openly called for Matawalle’s removal from the defense ministry, insisting that anyone facing such claims has no business near Nigeria’s security architecture.
Islamic clerics and political commentators have also long asserted that he distributed vehicles to bandit leaders under the guise of peace negotiations. These claims predate his current appointment and have persisted for years.
Matawalle has denied everything, even offering to swear on the Qur’an. But a denial is not evidence. The problem is not merely the existence of accusations; it is the volume, consistency, and diversity of the sources. When allegations come from a former insider, a sitting governor, clerics, and journalists and they all align, the damage is already done, even before any court judgment.
Then came the resurfaced video, now widely circulated, in which he defended bandits and justified some of their actions. In that 2021 clip, recorded while he was governor, he said that “not all of them are criminal” and argued that some turned violent in response to vigilante abuses.
For Nigerians who have been kidnapped, lost loved ones, or live daily with fear, such comments sound painfully out of touch. The age of the video does not matter; its message reinforces what many people already believe about him. For a defense minister, that footage alone would be damning. Combined with the other allegations, it makes his continued stay in office inexplicable.
If President Tinubu could ask Mohammed Badaru Abubakar to step aside so that General Musa could take charge, there is absolutely no justification for keeping Matawalle.
Abubakar had no security background, but Matawalle combines inexperience with a mountain of ethical baggage. Retaining someone with no expertise is one thing; retaining someone with no expertise and a tainted reputation is a national disservice.
Tinubu’s initial decision to appoint two civilians with no defense credentials to lead such a critical ministry already raised doubts about his seriousness regarding national security. Was it political balancing, patronage, or regional considerations? Whatever the reasoning, it was a dangerous miscalculation in the face of widespread insecurity.
If the president now wants to prove that he understands the depth of the crisis, he cannot stop halfway. He must remove figures whose credibility undermines the very reforms he claims to pursue.
Politically, Matawalle also offers very little. He only became governor because the Supreme Court nullified the APC’s votes in 2019 and handed the mandate to the runner-up. When he finally stood before the voters in 2023, he was defeated.
How then does his presence benefit the president? A politician who has never secured the genuine mandate of his people cannot strengthen anyone else’s political prospects. Losing re-election despite incumbency speaks for itself.
In short, Matawalle offers neither political advantage nor security competence. What he does offer is reputational risk. His continued presence casts doubt on the government’s sincerity and weakens public confidence at a time when trust is already fragile.
And crucially, Zamfara is not short of qualified, credible, and apolitical security experts who could replace him without any regional backlash. The state has produced respected military officers, counterinsurgency specialists, and community security experts with real field experience.
Then, when Nigerians thought they had seen it all and rumors started circulating that Matawalle is taking Malam Murtala Asada to court, a video suddenly emerged on Thursday showing a confession by the former aide of Matawalle:
“My name is Muhammad Musa Kamarawa, I am the SSA to Matawalle when he was Zamfara State Governor. I just saw on media now that Bello Matawalle has sued respected cleric Malam Murtala Asada. If it is based on the video of the cleric accusing Matawalle, it is true. All what the cleric said is true.”
He continued:
“There is one particular clip where the cleric mentioned that Matawalle bought vehicles for the terrorists. I swear by Allah, it is true. Matawalle bought those vehicles. He bought vehicles for Kachalla Halilu, Bello Turji, Ado Aleru.”
Then came the part no Nigerian was prepared for:
“There is another clip where the cleric said they bought Dusa for the terrorists. I swear by Allah, it is me, Musa Kamarawa, that they gave money to buy the Dusa.
Here is the bank statement that shows all the 14 LGAs of Zamfara State each sent me three million. That is forty-two million.
I used the money to buy twenty-eight thousand bags of Dusa. I know who I gave, and I gave terrorists too.”
More revelations followed, darker than anything Nigeria has ever heard:
“There is a clip the cleric said Dole, a terrorist, was arrested with more than five hundred rifles and ammunition. He was shot in the leg. He was arrested and taken to Abuja at Lamurde’s office. Matawalle sent one of his boys, Bashir Maru, to go and bail him.”
But the nightmare did not end there.
“The cleric also talked about a house bought for Turji. I swear by Allah, it is true. I am the one who bought the uncompleted building. We bought it, we completed it, and we gave it to Turji.”
And then he dropped the final bomb:
“All this is just what the cleric knows. But there are things he doesn’t know.
Like buying stolen cows. I swear by Allah, Matawalle gave me eighty-four million to buy stolen cows. I took it to Kachalla Halilu and Kachalla Turji, both deadliest terrorists, and I gave them the money.
Those cows were stolen cows.”
Finally, he challenged Matawalle openly:
“I am calling Malam Murtala Asada to allow me to be a witness in the court. I will go to the court with my proofs and evidence. There are many things done in secret that no one knows.
I swear I will say it in front of the court.
It is time for people to know the truth.”
Now, whatever the case is, the person with this limited knowledge of security and a track record with a personality in question like this should not be the Minister of Defence unless Tinubu is truly ready to tackle insecurity as he claims.
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