The call for the sack of minister of state for Defence, Bello Matawalle thickens as poster carrying protesters stormed the headquarters of the Department of Security Services in Abuja on Tuesday.
Hundreds of disgruntled women and youths from Zamfara State blamed the immediate past governor for the state of insecurity in Zamfara.
They alleged that his romance with bandits while presiding over the state was responsible for the heightened activities of bandits.
The demonstrators, who arrived in about 12 long buses at 10.15 am, were restricted from accessing the premises of the security agency.
The protest comes one month after the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the state, to allow the fight against banditry to succeed.
Waving placards which read: ‘We are dying’ and ‘DSS, save us from bandits,’ the protesters urged the DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, to intervene.
The leader of the protesters, Mallam Musa Mahmud, expressed disappointment that President Bola Tinubu had not sacked Matawalle as minister, despite the evidence presented by Governor Dauda Lawal.
Mahmud, who is also the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Akida Forum said, “The issues here are not just political problems. They are matters of life and death, economic survival and the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Zamfara State that should not be handled lightly.
“We want the DSS to conduct a thorough investigation to save millions of Nigerians and safeguard the integrity of the President and the intelligence community.
“The agency is in the best position to advise President Tinubu to relieve Matawalle of his position, to face an investigative panel and clarify his connections with dangerous individuals like Bello Tagoji, Musa Kamarawa and Ardon Zuru.
“These are not abstract concerns. Zamfara citizens have the right to live free from the constant threat of banditry and violence.
“These issues should be at the forefront of any reasonable Nigerian who means well for the country.”
