The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced plans to file a lawsuit against Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, a media aide to Governor Dauda Lawal, following serious allegations made against the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
Kaura accused the former governor of working with criminal gangs during the abduction of over 300 students from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in 2020.
Kaura made the allegations during an interview with an online television platform, where he claimed that Matawalle played a key role in the Kankara kidnapping, which occurred on December 11, 2020.
According to Kaura, Matawalle allegedly took N300 million from the then-Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, as ransom money for the release of the students but handed over only N30 million to the kidnappers.
He said, “Matawalle collected N300m from his counterpart, the then Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, with the aim of facilitating the release of the 300 kidnapped students of GSS Kankara. However, at the end, he gave the bandits only N30m and took the remaining N270m for himself.”
In response to the claims, Zamfara APC has dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and announced it would take legal steps to hold Kaura accountable.
The party’s spokesperson, Yusuf Idris, said that an emergency meeting had been held by the state party leadership, where the issue was discussed and legal action was agreed upon.
Idris said, “The Zamfara State chapter of the APC under its chairman, Tukur Umar Danfulani today held an emergency SWC meeting and reviewed the provocation by Mustapha Jafaru Kaura against its leaders, who need to be called to order.
“The meeting condemned the lies peddled by the Zamfara State government against the APC leaders in the state, more especially against the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, on very sensitive issues which need to be investigated.”
“The callousness of Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, spokesman to Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, characterised by open insults, character assassination, and direct abuse of APC Zamfara State chapter chieftains—particularly the state party leader and current Minister of State for Defence, former governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, as well as the former governor now Senator representing Zamfara West, Hon. Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar—can no longer be tolerated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.”
The party noted that Kaura’s comments about the December 11, 2020 abduction of students in Kankara amounted to grave accusations.
“The recent outpouring by Mustapha Jafaru Kaura that over 300 students of GSS, Kankara, in the bordering state of Katsina, were whisked into the forest at gunpoint by a gang of armed bandits, and indeed many kidnappings, followed a deliberate collaboration between former governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle—now Minister of State for Defence—and the bandits, will be met with court action. The party will file a suit for Kaura to provide all the details of his assertions.
The APC said it would not only demand Kaura provide evidence of his claims but also explain his statements about other high-profile abductions in Zamfara during Matawalle’s tenure.
“Mustapha Jafaru Kaura must also prove and give details of the kidnappings of the over 270 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State—who were abducted by bandits on February 26, 2021, and rescued by Matawalle just two days after.
“The same applies to students of Kaya in Maradun Local Government Area and students from the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura, Zamfara State, who were also rescued by Matawalle.”
The party also indicated it may include the online platform that conducted the interview in the legal proceedings.
“The party will also consider joining the platform used in the interview in the case, as both the interviewee and the interviewer seemed to be going through a prepared document in order to achieve their set objective,” he said.
