Court orders former Zamfara governor to return official vehicle owned by him
The Federal High Court in Sokoto has dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle over the ownership of a vehicle he took with him upon his retirement in May 2023.
In June, police visited Matawalle's home to seize the vehicle pursuant to a court order.
A statement issued on Monday by Sulaiman Bala Idris, a spokesman for Nigeria's current governor of Northern State, Dauda Lawal, said the Federal High Court had rejected Matawalle's claim over ownership of the vehicle.
According to the statement, Governor Lawal's administration was left with nothing as Zamfara Governor, who is currently the current Minister of State for Defence, removed all state government vehicles along with his cabinet members. use.
The statement recalled that “in June, the Zamfara State Government gave the former governor and deputy governor five working days to return all stolen official vehicles.” All requests for the return of the vehicle were found to be invalid, and as a result, the Zamfara State Government resorted to obtaining a court order to recover the vehicle.
“Following up on that command, the police recovered over 50 vehicles in total. After the vehicles were recovered, Bello Matawalle immediately rushed to the Federal High Court in Gusau.”
Gusau is the capital of Zamfara state.
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal
The statement said a court in Gusau granted the order for the return of the car to Matawalle, who subsequently filed another suit in the same court in the Zamfara state capital seeking to “enforce his fundamental right to own property.” ” he said. Including the vehicle in question. ”
The Guardian newspaper has gathered that the government of Matawalle's successor, Governor Lawal, has at this point requested that the case be transferred to another jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. The jurisdiction lies with the Sokoto Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, which dismissed the matter on Friday after rejecting Matawalle's claim to ownership of the vehicle.
Sokoto and Zamfara states are contiguous states and share a border. Until 1996, Zamfara was part of Sokoto State.
“As a result, the vehicle remains the property of Zamfara State Government,” the statement continued. “Our government is committed to restoring everything that rightfully belongs to the people through a comprehensive rescue operation that uses all possible means.”
The statement added: “The judgment of the Federal High Court will encourage us to ensure that justice prevails and all perpetrators of the financial heist in Zamfara are arrested.”
Source: guardian.ng