The Minister of State for Defense, Hon. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has categorically dismissed claims of Lakurawa militants operating in the Northwest zone, stating that such assertions are baseless and unfounded.
While speaking to journalists at his Gusau residence on the 22nd of December, 2024, the former Governor of Zamfara State highlighted the achievements of military troops in the region, noting that terrorist gangs have been neutralized, their camps obliterated, and a significant cache of arms and ammunition recovered.
“These criminals are not Nigerians,” he revealed, attributing their origins to neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. According to him, their mission was to wreak havoc, but the military has successfully dealt with them.
“We have finished with them in the Northwest zone. Anybody talking about Lakurawa militants is doing so to tarnish the image of the Federal Government and security agencies,” he asserted.
Hon. Matawalle expressed concerns over the spread of rumors designed to instill fear among citizens, pointing a finger at journalists, particularly social media operators, for propagating unverified information.
“The military troops are killing the bandits’ kingpins and their foot soldiers on a daily basis. But the social media operators are not reporting this,” he remarked.
He accused some locals of feeding journalists with false information about bandit activities in a bid to discredit the current administration.
“We are aware that locals are giving journalists wrong information about the bandits’ activities in the state to discredit the present administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
The minister made it clear that the Federal Government remains undeterred by such tactics, emphasizing that the Tinubu administration is resolute in its commitment to eradicating banditry in the Northwest zone by 2025.
“We will not succumb to their threats. The Tinubu administration is very much ready to wipe out all the bandits in the Northwest zone before the end of 2025,” he stated.
Matawalle reaffirmed the administration’s dedication to safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians, urging citizens to disregard false narratives spread by what he described as “enemies of peace and progress.”
“The battle against banditry is still on, and we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. There is no going back on the arrangement to neutralize all the bandits by 2025,” he concluded.