Court Contempt: Zamfara Dep COS to Face Prosecution for Tempering With Matawalle's Cars.

 

On Friday December 1st 2023, the Federal High Court Sokoto judicial Division delivered a judgment in the suit filed by the immediate past governor of Zamfara State Hon (Dr) Bello Mohammed Matawallen Maradun MON, demanding the Court for the enforcement of his fundamental rights, following the illegal invasion of his two private residential houses at Gusau and Maradun by some security operatives acting on the directives of the state Gov Dauda Lawal Dare. 

The suit file no FHC/S/CS/29/2023 in its judgment lead by Hon. Justice Ahmad G. Mahmud dismissed the case, as contained in the following judgment:

" In view of the foregoing, and lack of credible evidence against the Respondents, this court holds that the Applicant has failed to prove infringement of his fundamental rights against the Respondents. Consequently, the entire suit is hereby failed and accordingly  dismissed. No cost awarded"

As it contains, there was no where the Judge made mention of the cars in the judgment delivered. 

However, due to the Dauda Lawal administration's overzealousness to indict the former governor and the current Minister of State, Defence Bello Mohammed Matawallen Maradun MON, the ADC, the CSO and the CSO Civil Defence spearheaded the repatriation of the vehicles from the Federal High Court Gusau ordered to be deposited in its premises pending the court's determination. They evacuated the vehicles to the government House Gusau. 

The most annoying thing was  the court Registrar that was humiliated when he insisted that an order of permission by the court must be given to him before he could allow the evacuation exercise. The security officers of the Gov then locked the Court Registrar in his office until after the evacuation of the vehicles without the court permission. 

This is even more annoying when the the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Aminu Almajir is being seen using some of these vehicles without the consent or authority of either the Federal High Court Sokoto judicial Division or the Federal High Court Gusau. 

According to sources within the government House Gusau, Aminu Almajir ordered the opening and cleaning of all the vehicles and was alleged to have  tampered with the contents of some of the vehicles belonging to the immediate former Governor, Hon (Dr) Bello Mohammed Matawalle. 

It may be recalled that, acting on the orders of Gov Dauda Lawal, the invasion of Matawalle's residences in Gusau and Maradun carried out, resulting in the removal of the vehicles and other personal belongings of the former governor and his family without proper authorization.

Dauda Lawan, without a court-issued authority letter, directed the evacuation of the cars from court custody and subsequently entrusted them to his Deputy Chief of Staff, Aminu Almajir, at the Governmentt House. 

This purported misconduct demands scrutiny, as the entire process, from removing the vehicles from court custody to their placement at the Government House, was deemed illegal due to the absence of an official release letter. An anonymous source confirmed to our medium that the security breach at the court premises, where the cars were removed without any court permission, raising significant concerns about the legality of the entire operation.

This illegal act was carried out barely two days after the delivery of the judgment, despite the fact that an appeal has been lodged to the Court of Appeal, along with a Motion on Notice for a restraining order at the trial Federal High Court, all to the notice of all the respondents, but yet the ADC to the Governor ignominiously went with the said act.

This is the first time a former Gov suffered such humiliation, just under two weeks of his handing over government to successor, a former Gov was meted with such embarrassment and humuliating treatment,  an act members of the public described as barbaric and violation of his fundamental human rights. The public saw the act as setting bad precedence in governance in the state.

The public called on the two Federal High Courts in Gusau and Sokoto to swiftly act on both the security officers of the Gov and the Dep Chief of Staff for the gross violation of court proceedings and process.