United States Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives for District 14, Kimberly Daniels, has demanded the immediate sack or redeployment of Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
Daniels made the call in a statement on Tuesday, amid a surge in killings and heightened insecurity in Nigeria.
She condemned the brutal killings of Christians on Palm and Easter Sundays in Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and other parts of Nigeria.
According to her, the Nigerian community and leaders have expressed exhaustion with political statements from President Bola Tinubu and are demanding “real action,” while the voice of innocent blood cries out from the ground.
He noted that reports have identified ‘red flags’, including allegations of complicity with bandits during Matawalle’s tenure as governor of Zamfara, on the ground testimonies of harbouring bandit leaders and the facilitation of ransom payments.
As an urgent recommendation, the lawmaker urged President Tinubu to remove Matawalle from his cabinet.
“Immediate Leadership Review: The removal or redeployment of Minister Bello Matawalle to restore the integrity of the defence ministry; Institutional Transparency: Conducting a transparent investigation into allegations of high-level complicity with banditry to regain the trust of the Nigerian people; Enhanced Protection: Implementing more robust security measures for vulnerable communities in the North-Central and Northwestern belts of the country,” she stated.
The lawmaker urged the US, United Kingdom and other international communities to increase diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian government to ensure that those accused of aiding terrorism are held accountable.
She added, “Increase diplomatic pressure to ensure that those accused of aiding terrorism are held accountable.
“The position I take on this issue is because of citizens reaching out to me from Nigeria. My connection to Nigeria as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the chairwoman of UN-WCD would not allow me to be silent.”
