Governor Matawalle challenges Zamfara residents to swear on Quran they're not bandits

Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has challenged everyone in the state to swear that they have no hand in the banditry activities plaguing the state.
After receiving an award as the Khadimul Quran conferred on him by the Centre for Quranic Reciter, Nigeria, on Sunday, March 21, 2021, the governor swore on the Quran to absolve himself of any involvement in banditry.

Noting that the issue of insecurity concerns everyone, Matawalle challenged all residents of the state to follow in his footsteps to prove their innocence.

"I dare all the people from Zamfara State, from our father, Aliyu Gusau to Yarima Bakura and all the cabinet members, right from the inception of the political dispensation of the state, to take this oath as I did," he said, according to a report by Channels TV.

The governor said taking up the challenge would make it easy to identify those behind the worrisome insecurity in the state.

Zamfara is one of the states in the northern region worst affected by the activities of bandits who have killed dozens and abducted dozens more for ransom over the past few years.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently banned all forms of mining in the state, and declared its air space a no-fly zone.

Governor Matawalle has been running a controversial amnesty programme for 'repentant' bandits, recovering numerous arms and ammunition in the process.

The governor recently warned those who are yet to repent to do so within two months or face intense military action.