The newly-formed Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG) has been critcised over the death of a renowned politician in the state, Magaji Lauwali, in its custody.
The CPG was inaugurated on January 31, 2024 with the aim of assisting security agencies to stem down the activities of bandits in the state.
Magaji was said to have died as a result of a confrontation between CPG personnel and members of the banned Yansakai.
In two separate statements issued by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and the Commissioner for Information and Culture, the government exonerated itself from the incident.
“The Zamfara State government has directed security agencies to conduct an investigation into the alleged confrontation between members of the CPG and some elements of the banned Yansakai group in Tsafe Local Government Area which resulted in the death of one individual,’’ it said in the first statement.
The statement, which was signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mal. Abubakar M. Nakwada, said the government was aware of the disagreement between the two factions and that the situation was brought under control.
In the second statement, the state Commissioner for Information said: “ZMSG condemned CPG/Yansakai clashes in Tsafe, and has constituted a committee to investigate the matter.”
Victim disagrees with government account
According to Yahaya Galadima, who was arrested along with the deceased, they were invited to the office of the CPG in Tsafe over their alleged involvement in banditry, which they both denied.
In an interview with Daily Trust, Galadima said immediately after they arrived at the CPG, a list of 31 people, including their names, was shown to them which the guards said were suspected collaborators of bandits.
“After we denied the allegation, they tied up our hands with a rope and locked us in a room. At around 2am, I was brought out from the room and abandoned at the premises of the facility. Later, I was taken to another room, while Baba Magaji was left in the other room. That was how they separated us and from there, I did not know what happened to him next.
“These people beat us seriously and they didn’t feed or give us water. Our hands remained tied with a rope. You can see bruises on my arms.
“The following day (Sunday), the CPG personnel brought me out of the room and apologised for all they did to me, returned my belongings and asked me to go home. Nobody briefed me about Baba Magaji until in the night we heard that he was dead and his corpse was deposited at the mortuary of Tsafe General Hospital,” he said.
‘Deceased’s son, uncle detained, tortured’
Alhaji Nura Magaji Lauwali, the deceased’s son, recalled that when he and his uncle, Malam Usman Musa went to the CPG office in Tsafe to collect the phone number of his late father, they were detained for hours on allegation that he (Nura) had called one of the CPG personnel on phone and threatened to kill two of their personnel.
He alleged that they were interrogated and tortured by the guards, who interviewed them three times trying to compel them to give false statements against his late father.
“During the first interview, we refused to give statements. But when they returned for the second interrogation, three of them pointed guns at me; one to my head, another to my chest and the last one pointed at my knee. They threatened to kill me if I refused to give the statement, and again, I refused. Then, one of them pointed at a room and said they killed my father inside and if I did not give a statement, they would also drag me into the room and kill me.
“It was at this time that my uncle said we should comply with their directives in order to save our lives. So, when they returned for the third time, we succumbed to their demand. They wrote statements and asked us to sign after which they released us around 10pm,” he said.
Corroborating, Alhaji Usman Musa, a younger brother to the deceased, said: “We suffered a lot in the hands of these personnel to the extent that I sustained a dislocation on my left arm.
“After all the torture, they directed me to bring my nephew, Anas and immediate younger brother, Abu Musa, to their office for questioning.”
Murder politically motivated – Family
The family of the deceased alleged that the murder of late Magaji was politically motivated, as he had nothing to do with banditry.
Musa, also known as Babani, said, “The murder was political and the family is suspecting a renowned politician in Yandoto town.
“The man has been in serious political disagreements with my brother for a very long time and the two CPG personnel whom we are accusing of playing roles in the arrest and murder of my brother are his close allies.
“The CPG alleged that my brother had played a greater role in the conferment of a traditional title on the renowned bandits’ leader, Ado Aliero, an allegation we considered baseless and untrue. They also alleged that Magaji was serving as a middleman between bandits and relations of kidnapped victims when it came to payment of ransom. All these allegations are lies.
“The family will take legal action on this matter. It is not possible for the family to allow the murderers to go scot-free. We will continue to mount pressure on the government until justice is done to this family.”
Senator Kabiru Marafa also viewed the murder as political. “While I support the government in its effort to provide the much-needed security in our state, I reject any act of political vendetta and or witch-hunt by the security outfit,” he said.
Marafa, who promised legal action against the murderers, added: “I have ordered for an autopsy to be carried on the corpse to unveil the causes of his death. I have also presented some GSM mobile phone numbers to the appropriate service providers to ascertain the level of involvement of the owners in this heinous action.
“I am waiting for the outcomes of these findings and whoever is found wanting in the brutal murder of late Magaji will surely face the wrath of the law. I will personally follow up this case to its logical conclusion. I want to ensure that the murderers of this gentleman are punished according to the provisions of the law.
Sen. Marafa faulted accounts of the state government, saying the claims contained in the two releases were desperate efforts to change the narratives of what happened.
He said multiple witnesses had confirmed that the victims were arrested from their hometown and taken to the CPG office in Tsafe where Lauwali died and Yahaya was injured.
“While I welcome the good news from the Zamfara State government…to conduct a holistic investigation into the incident that led to the death of Alhaji Magaji Lawali, my associate, I reject the claim that he died during a confrontation or skirmishes between some groups or persons.
“I, therefore, call on the state government to come out clean from this gruesome murder of an innocent person and ensure that a thorough and unbiased investigation is carried out.
When contacted, the state Commander of the Community Protection Guards, Colonel Rabi’u Yandoto, denied having a hand in the murder of Magaji.
“When this man died, I had not even collected my letter of appointment. I was appointed state commander of the outfit on Thursday, February 8, 2024, did my documentation on Friday, February 9, then travelled to Kaduna on Saturday, February 10 and returned to Zamfara on Monday, February 12.
“Late Magaji was my primary school classmate and I did not have any issue with him at all. I am sure, I am only being accused of his murder because I am the state commander of the CPG.
“And for the record, up till this moment that I am speaking with you, we have not been given any weapons and other working tools for us to start operation. We are expecting to start proper work by Monday, February 19, 2024. So, all the allegations are baseless,’’ he said.
He said the CPG had received numerous complaints on the conduct of some of its personnel and was working to fish out the bad eggs,
“Initially, the government intended to recruit 3,000 personnel but during the recruitment exercise, we fished out those that had questionable characters. Some of those that were removed are currently in correctional centres while others are being interrogated by the DSS,” he said.
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