Hundreds of aggrieved women and youths from Zamfara State on Tuesday stormed the Headquarters of the Department State Services, DSS in Abuja to protest banditry and the heightened insecurity in the state.
The demonstrators, who arrived in about 12 buses , were however restricted from coming close to the premises of the security agency popularly known as Yellow House along Aso Drive
The protest comes a month after the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency to allow the fight against banditry to succeed.
Some of placards carried by the protesters read ‘We are dying’ and ‘DSS, save us from bandits’
The protesters urged the new DSS Director General, Adeola Tosin Ajayi to help them out in the state
The aggrieved persons also blamed their immediate past governor, Bello Matawalle, for the heightened activities of criminals, which they claimed was a fallout of his alleged romance with bandits.
Speaking with newsmen on the development, the Spokesperson of the demonstrators, Mallam Musa Mahmud, expressed dismay that President Bola Tinubu has yet to drop the Minister of State for Defence despite the damning evidence presented by his successor, Governor Dauda Lawal.
Mahmud, who is also the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Akida Forum, pleaded that Matawalle should be probed and not given a soft landing owing to his loyalty to the president.
According to him, “the issues here are not just political problems. They are matters of life and death, economic survival and the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Zamfara State that should not be handled lightly.
“We want the DSS to conduct a thorough investigation to save millions of Nigerians and safeguard the integrity of the president and the intelligence community. The agency is in the best position to advise President Tinubu to relieve Bello Matawalle from his position to face an investigative panel and clarify his connections with dangerous individuals like Bello Turji, Musa Kamarawa and Ardon Zuru.
“These are not abstract concerns. Zamfara citizens have the right to live free from the constant threat of banditry and violence. These issues should be at the forefront of any reasonable Nigerian who means well for the country.”
