A Federal High Court in Sokoto has ruled against a suit brought by former Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, regarding the ownership of official vehicles he took when leaving office in May. In June, the police, following a court order, seized the vehicles during a raid on Matawalle’s residences. Governor Dauda Lawal’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, confirmed on Monday that the court rejected Matawalle’s claims over the vehicles.
The statement explained that Matawalle and his cabinet members had taken away all official vehicles belonging to the state government, leaving the current administration without necessary resources. In June, the Zamfara State government, having received no response to demands for the return of the vehicles, obtained a court order for their retrieval. Over 50 vehicles were subsequently recovered by the police.
After the recovery, Matawalle approached the Federal High Court in Gusau, which granted an order for the vehicles to be returned to him. He also filed a separate suit seeking to enforce his fundamental right to own property, including the disputed vehicles. The Zamfara State Government requested the transfer of the case to another jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
The Federal High Court in Sokoto dismissed the matter on Friday, rejecting Matawalle’s claims to ownership of the official vehicles. Consequently, the vehicles are deemed the property of the Zamfara State government. The statement emphasized the government’s commitment to recovering assets rightfully belonging to the people, expressing determination to bring perpetrators of financial wrongdoing in Zamfara to justice.