Court Orders Retrieval Of Over 50 Government Vehicles Carted Away By Former Zamfara Governor Matawalle

Court Orders Retrieval Of Over 50 Government Vehicles Carted Away By Former Zamfara Governor Matawalle

A Federal High Court in Sokoto has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the immediate past Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, regarding the ownership of more than 50 vehicles purportedly belonging to the Zamfara State Government.

Bello Matawalle

These vehicles were allegedly taken by the former governor and his supporters before the handover of power on May 29, 2023.

In response to this, the Zamfara State Police Command conducted a raid on Mr Matawalle’s residences in June of this year, recovering official vehicles as mandated by the court. Despite this, the former governor contested the action and filed an objection at the Federal High Court. However, on Friday, the Sokoto Division of the Federal High Court dismissed Mr Matawalle’s claims regarding the ownership of these official vehicles.

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The Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, welcomed the court’s decision. He asserted that the former governor and his cabinet members had taken away numerous crucial official vehicles that belonged to the state government, leaving the present administration with a lack of resources.

Mr Idris said in a statement on Monday: “Recall that in June, the Zamfara State Government gave the former governor and his deputy five working days to return all official vehicles taken away.

“All demands for the return of the said vehicles proved abortive, and as a result, the Zamfara State Government resorted to obtaining a court order to retrieve them. In pursuit of that order, a total number of over 50 vehicles were recovered by the police.

“After the vehicles were recovered, Bello Matawalle quickly went to the Federal High Court in Gusau. The court granted an order for the cars to be returned to him. Additionally, he filed a separate suit at the same court, seeking to enforce his fundamental right to own property, including the vehicles in question.

“The Zamfara State Government requested the transfer of the case to another jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

“The Federal High Court of Nigeria, Sokoto Judicial Division, dismissed the matter on Friday. The court refused the reliefs sought by Bello Matawalle and rejected his claim to the ownership of the official vehicles. As a result, the vehicles are still considered the property of the Zamfara State Government.

“Our government is committed to recovering all that rightfully belongs to the people through an all-encompassing rescue mission that leaves no stone unturned.

“The judgment by the Federal High Court will encourage us to ensure that justice prevails and all perpetrators of financial banditry in Zamfara are brought to book,” Mr Idris added.