The Zamfara State government has accused the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, of using federal security institutions to harass and intimidate opposition figures in the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the state government alleged that the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) was used to unlawfully abduct a political aide linked to the Zamfara governor.
According to the statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, a Technical Assistant in the Office of the Governor, Saleem Abubakar, was allegedly abducted in Abuja on Monday.
The state government claimed that the operation was carried out by a special forces unit allegedly linked to the NSA’s office, and that the action was taken without an arrest warrant.
“The abductors took him to an unknown location and later moved him to different facilities in an attempt to cover their tracks,” the statement said.
Zamfara authorities further alleged that the action was “syndicated” through the office of the NSA by the Minister of State for Defence, describing the development as a dangerous misuse of federal power.
The government warned that such actions, if left unchecked, could undermine the neutrality of Nigeria’s security agencies and set a troubling precedent for democratic governance.
“This is a perilous precedent that all Nigerians must strongly condemn,” the statement noted, adding that political disagreements should not be handled through intimidation or extra-legal actions.
The Zamfara State Government called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene by directing the Office of the National Security Adviser to investigate the matter and ensure due process is followed.
“If there are allegations against Saleem Abubakar, he should be charged in court rather than abducted,” the government said.
The state also vowed to closely monitor the situation and pursue what it described as “justice to its logical conclusion.”
