Group Urges Tinubu To Halt Allocation To Zamfara State

By Akinwale Kasali

The spate of insecurity bedevilling Zamfara State has prompted a Civil Society Group, CSO, under the aegis of Situation Room on Monitoring the War Against Banditry, to ask President Bola Tinubu to freeze the Federal Allocations to the State and declare a State of Emergency.

The Group said it is necessary for President Tinubu to impose Emergency Rule in the State over alleged Governor Dauda Lawal’s role in banditry in the State.

The Group further claimed that the Governor’s administration’s handling of Security Votes has effectively subsidized criminal elements operating from the shadows.

In a Media briefing Sunday, Patriot Henry Abba, Convener of the Group, decried the Governor ’s statements as a “damning admission of guilt” that has plunged Zamfara deeper into chaos.

“It’s shocking, heartbreaking – a blatant betrayal of trust and a catastrophic leadership failure under this administration,” Abba noted.

He argued that Lawal’s reluctance to relay the critical intelligence to Federal Security outfits has transformed the State into a “notorious graveyard” where abductions, massacres, and mass displacements have become the grim routine for innocent residents.

Abba painted a harrowing picture of Zamfara’s plight: villages reduced to rubble, families torn apart by nightly raids, and farmlands abandoned under the shadow of fear.

“This is nothing short of feeding bandits right from Government House”, the group stated.

Abba said that a recent video where Governor Lawal openly disclosed knowledge of bandit kingpins’ hideouts but stopped short of decisive action speaks volume.

According to him, “Considering the State’s substantial security budget – reportedly N600 million disbursed monthly – Lawal’s professed helplessness is “utterly irresponsible”.

Abba slammed the Governor’s conduct as a direct affront to frontline troops risking their lives and a desecration of the sacrifices made by fallen heroes in the fight against insurgency.