Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has suspended the District Head of Badarawa in Shinkafi Emirate, Surajo Namakkah, for conferring a title on a military officer arrested for selling ammunition to bandits.
Matawalle approved the suspension of the monarch in a statement on Friday signed by the Director-General of Media to the State Government, Yusuf Idris.
The governor said the state would not tolerate anything capable of destroying the hard-earned peace of Zamfara, adding that anybody found wanting in anyway will be dealt with accordingly.
Matawalle warned that henceforth traditional rulers must seek approval before conferring traditional titles, to avoid unnecessary embarrassment to the government and the traditional institution.
According to the governor, the military officer was recently arrested for being in possession of 20 rounds of 62mm live ammunition.
The suspect was said to be at the point of handing over the ammunition to one Kabiru Bashiru of Maniya village, Shinkafi Emirate, and had allegedly collected an advance payment of N100,000 from bandits.
The governor commended security agencies for arresting one Dr Kamarawa who was in possession of four sets of military camouflage and army identification card.
He said that Kamarawa specialised in the supply of army uniforms and medicaments to bandits in Zamfara.
Matawalle expressed sadness over the involvement of some irresponsible security personnel in banditry, saying it would sabotage ongoing operations and make it impossible to end banditry in the country.
“The nation will not defeat the criminals with such bad eggs within the security architecture,” he added.
