The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced plans to sue Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Jafaru Kaura, over allegations of colluding with bandits to orchestrate the abduction of 300 students from Government Secondary School, Kankara, in Katsina State. The APC claims Kaura’s allegations against Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, are baseless and unfounded.
According to Kaura, Matawalle, who was the Governor of Zamfara State at the time, collected N300m from then-Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, as ransom for the release of the abducted students but diverted most of the funds, giving the bandits only N30m and taking N270m for himself. However, the APC has vehemently denied these allegations, describing them as “lies” and “character assassination.”
The APC’s decision to take Kaura to court was made during an emergency meeting, where the party resolved to demand evidence to support Kaura’s claims. The party also wants Kaura to provide details about other high-profile abductions in Zamfara during Matawalle’s tenure, including.
– The kidnapping of over 270 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State, who were abducted by bandits on February 26, 2021, and reportedly rescued by Matawalle two days later.
– The abduction of students from Kaya in Maradun Local Government Area.
– The abduction of students from the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura, Zamfara State.
The APC may also join the online platform that conducted the interview with Kaura in the legal proceedings, citing suspicions that the interview was scripted to achieve a specific objective. Matawalle’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Danmaliki, confirmed that the minister is aware of the APC’s plan to take Kaura to court and supports the action.
The Kankara abduction, which occurred on December 11, 2020, resulted in the kidnapping of over 300 students from the Government Science Secondary School. The students were later released on December 18, 2020. The incident sparked widespread outrage and raised concerns about the security situation in the region. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also expressed deep concern over the rising cases of kidnapping, particularly of boarding schools in northern Nigeria, and has called on security agencies to do more to protect citizens.
Source: The Punch
