The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has dismissed allegations linking the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to banditry, describing the claims as baseless, unfounded and politically motivated.
The student body said the minister was being unfairly targeted at a time when the country required unity and collective resolve to address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the President of the Senate, NANS Headquarters, Comrade Usman Adamu Nagwaza, said the allegations against Matawalle were part of a deliberate attempt to politicise national security for selfish interests.
Nagwaza said that following consultations and internal reviews, NANS had passed a vote of confidence on the minister, insisting that he was a victim of media blackmail and political persecution.
He explained that claims alleging the minister’s links with terrorist commanders and the provision of support to bandits had been thoroughly investigated and found to be without merit.
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According to him, NANS, working alongside independent investigators and journalists, established that the accusations lacked credible evidence and were driven largely by political motives.
“NANS does not represent barbarism or criminality. Our concern is Nigeria, especially students, who are directly affected by insecurity,” the statement read.
The association urged President Bola Tinubu to continue to support the Minister of State for Defence and protect him from what it described as campaigns of calumny by “charlatans.”
It also called on the President to declare a state of emergency on insecurity and further empower the armed forces to intensify operations against criminal elements across the country.
NANS appealed to Nigerians to rally behind the Ministry of Defence and reject what it termed the politics of character assassination, stressing that such actions undermine national efforts to restore peace and stability.
The group maintained that Matawalle remained a dedicated public servant and warned that Nigeria could not afford to lose “its best hands” to political battles at a critical time in the nation’s fight against insecurity.
