Bashir Hadejia, a close aide to Nigeria's junior minister of defence, Bello Matawalle, has been arrested by a combined team of the police and the State Security Services (SSS) for alleged gunrunning and smuggling of large caches of weapons.
Mr. Hadejia, who was a special assistant to Mr. Matawalle while serving as governor of Zamfara State, was arrested over the weekend and is also accused of money laundering and other transnational crimes against the government. He is currently in custody and undergoing interrogation.
The suspect is accused of being involved in aiding terrorism and other forms of criminality in the northern part of the country. Video footage showed Mr. Hadejia displaying bars of 'Gold' inscribed with the status of a former de facto leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi.
The arrest has generated reactions amid links with high-profile and prominent politicians, including Mr. Matawalle, amid escalating security challenges in the northeast part of the country. Notorious terrorism kingpin, Bello Turji, had previously accused Mr. Matawalle of allegedly empowering terrorists when he was governor of Zamfara State.
Between 2019 and 2023, Mr. Matawalle initiated an amnesty scheme that provided financial rewards and protection for bandits who surrendered their arms. However, Mr. Turji claimed that the failed deal merely empowered some of his colleagues, noting that many of them moved back to the cities from where they command bandits operating in the bush.
Sources in the nation's intelligence units confirmed that Mr. Hadejia was still in custody and undergoing interrogation. The police and SSS spokesmen have not yet reacted to the arrest.
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