Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, is reportedly facing intense pressure to resign after admitting knowledge of bandits’ hideouts but claiming helplessness to act.
In the viral video, Lawal, speaking in Hausa, lamented that despite procuring 150 vehicles for security agencies, he could not dictate their deployment because directives must come from Abuja.
“I swear to God wherever bandits are, we know. I know, I can show you on this phone wherever they are… I know, but we can do nothing,” Lawal said.
“If I am the one in power to give the directives, I swear this issue will come to an end in two months.”
The remarks have triggered outrage across political and security circles, with many describing them as reckless and self-indicting.
Critics argue that a governor who has received billions of naira in monthly security votes since taking office cannot claim helplessness while rural communities are ravaged by weekly raids.
According to Independent, a senior government official stated that Lawal’s words had “shaken confidence at the highest levels.”
“This is not just irresponsible; it is a slap in the face of Nigerians, especially the security forces. Here is a governor who has received billions in security votes, funds meant precisely for gathering intelligence and supporting operations, yet he goes on video to confess he is helpless. It is unacceptable,” the official said.
The source added that Lawal’s admission of knowing the bandits’ locations but failing to officially transmit such intelligence to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Department of State Services (DSS), or the military was deeply troubling.
“If indeed the governor knows where these criminals are and has withheld such information, then he bears responsibility for every life lost in Zamfara. He cannot collect security votes, enjoy a heavily armed convoy, and then tell villagers that he knows where their killers are but can do nothing,” the official told Independent.
Zamfara remains Nigeria’s epicentre of banditry. On August 23, gunmen stormed Gamdum Mallam and Ruwan Rana villages in Bukkuyum LGA, killing two and abducting over 100 people. Earlier in the month, 24 were killed in Kauran Namoda, with 144 kidnapped.
A community leader in Maru told the aforementioned platform: “If he truly knows where the bandits are and refuses to act, then he is not fit to lead us. We are left at the mercy of killers.”
Analysts warn that Lawal’s admission could embolden criminals and erode confidence in state institutions.
Dr Usman Shehu, a Kaduna-based researcher on violent conflicts, described the remarks as “reckless at best and complicit at worst.”
“When a governor admits he knows the location of criminals but insists he is powerless, he undermines both the constitution and the morale of security operatives. It leaves ordinary citizens exposed and erodes the very essence of governance,” Shehu said.
According to insider sources, the federal government is considering declaring a state of emergency in Zamfara.
“The state is bleeding daily. Villages are being burnt, children abducted, and yet the chief security officer admits helplessness after pocketing billions in security votes. With this level of compromise, a state of emergency may be the only rational option,” the source argued.
The official also criticised the governor’s lavish personal security compared to the vulnerability of ordinary citizens.
“Everywhere he goes, his convoy bristles with armed escorts, including civil defence operatives and armoured vehicles. Meanwhile, ordinary people in Tsafe, Bukkuyum, and Kauran Namoda are slaughtered in their homes. That is the hypocrisy that has enraged Nigerians,” the source said.
Lawmakers in Zamfara are also weighing a probe into the governor’s handling of security votes and intelligence-sharing obligations.
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