President Bola Tinubu’s former spokesman in the Southeast, Denge Josef Onoh, has asked the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, to immediately resign from his position for his public expression of sympathy to acts of terrorism.

An old video recently surfaced where Matawalle, as Governor of Zamfara State, expressed sympathy to terrorists, saying that the bandits were their own brothers who were pushed into terrorism.

But reacting to the development, Onoh noted that Nigeria is engaged in an existential war against terrorism, banditry and violent extremism, where the armed forces, supported by sister security agencies, have paid an extraordinary price in blood and treasure to protect the territorial integrity and citizens of this country.

He stated that in the critical moment, the Nigerian people have an absolute right to demand that every individual occupying a sensitive national security position be unequivocally committed to the total defeat of terrorists and bandits, without ambiguity, sympathy and without a troubling past that casts doubt on their impartiality.

It is against this background that the resurfacing of a 2021 video of the current Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Matawalle, openly defending armed bandits and advocating dialogue and amnesty for them, has caused justifiable national outrage and consternation.

In the said video, recorded when he was Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Matawalle described bandits terrorising the North-West as “our brothers” who took up arms because they felt marginalised, and insisted that the only path to peace was negotiation, rehabilitation and integration rather than sustained military operations. He explicitly opposed the labelling of these criminals as terrorists and resisted kinetic action against them.

Onoh maintained that those statements were problematic in 2021, but that in 2025, with Dr. Matawalle now serving as Minister of State for Defence—second only to the substantive Minister in the hierarchy of the Ministry responsible for coordinating Nigeria’s fight against insurgency and banditry—those same statements have become utterly untenable and irreconcilable with his current oath of office.

He stressed that the primary duty of the Minister of State for Defence is to support the formulation and execution of policies that lead to the decisive neutralisation of terrorist groups and armed bandits.

“A public official who once described these same criminals as victims deserving of amnesty cannot credibly oversee military operations designed to eliminate them. Soldiers risking their lives in Sambisa, Alagarno, Mandara hills and the forests of Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna deserve leadership that sees terrorists as enemies of the state—not as misguided brothers to be placated.”

Onoh noted that the United States of America and several Western governments have repeatedly expressed concern about the political will of certain Nigerian actors to confront banditry and terrorism decisively, adding that the resurfaced video lends credence to those concerns.

“It provides ready ammunition to those who argue that elements within the Nigerian political class are either sympathetic to or compromised by terrorist elements. At a time when Nigeria is seeking increased defence cooperation, intelligence sharing and the removal of residual restrictions on arms sales, having a senior defence minister on record defending bandits is a diplomatic own-goal of monumental proportions.

“Families who have lost loved ones to bandit attacks, communities that have paid billions in ransom, and troops who have buried comrades cannot be expected to have confidence in a defence minister who once advocated rehabilitation over justice for the perpetrators. National security is as much about perception and morale as it is about firepower. This video has gravely undermined both,” Onoh said.

He reflected that in mature democracies, public officials who express views fundamentally at odds with the requirements of a subsequent high office are expected to step aside, citing an example of when former Japanese ministers were found to have made controversial statements years earlier and resignations were immediate.

“Nigeria cannot afford lower standards when the lives of citizens and the survival of the state are at stake. Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle has served Nigeria in various capacities and may have contributions yet to offer in other areas of public life. However, the Ministry of Defence in the middle of a shooting war against terrorism is not the appropriate place for him at this time—not after a video in which he unambiguously defended the same criminals our armed forces are mandated to eliminate.

“Accordingly, I respectfully call on Dr. Matawalle to do the honourable thing: tender his resignation as Minister of State for Defence with immediate effect to avoid any perception of divided loyalty in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.

“Should he be unable or unwilling to take this step, I urge His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR—as Commander-in-Chief who has demonstrated zero tolerance for compromise in the war against terror—to relieve Dr. Matawalle of his appointment without further delay.

“The President’s bold restructuring of the security architecture and his clear directives for decisive action against terrorists will be undermined by retaining a minister whose past public statements appear to contradict that resolve.

“Nigeria’s war against terrorism and banditry must be fought without sentiment, without sacred cows and without officials carrying ideological baggage that blunts the sharpness of the response. The men and women in uniform, the widows and orphans of fallen heroes, and the millions of displaced citizens deserve nothing less.

“For the sake of national unity, international credibility and the uncompromising pursuit of victory over terror, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle must go,” Onoh submitted. (The Guardian)

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