A former Senior Special Assistant to former Zamfara State Governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, Musa Muhammad Kamarawa, has accused two police officers of alleged extortion, illegal search, and seizure of his property during an investigation conducted in 2021.
In a petition addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, Kamarawa alleged that the officers, identified as CSP Hussaini Gimba and CSP Hassan Gimba, carried out what he described as a “partial investigation,” illegally searched his residence, and confiscated cash, gold, and other valuables without proper documentation.
Kamarawa claimed that during his detention, the officers allegedly prevented him from disclosing his relationship with Matawalle and allegedly pressured him into making statements under duress.
“In the course of investigation, I was coerced by them that I shouldn’t make any attempt to disclose my relationship with former Governor of Zamfara State, Dr Bello Matawalle,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the officers threatened his life and forced him to write statements while in detention.
The petitioner also alleged that the officers compelled him to withdraw N3.6 million from his company’s bank account while he was in custody.
“While I was on detention with them on November 4, 2021, the officers compelled me to write a cheque of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Naira, which I handed over to them,” he stated.
Kamarawa alleged that a man identified as Alhaji Hussaini Bosso acted as an intermediary between his family and the officers, allegedly collecting money from relatives on several occasions.
In the petition, Kamarawa also accused the officers of confiscating building materials linked to a contract awarded to him by the Sokoto State Government.
According to him, the officers allegedly moved the materials from a storage facility in Shinkafi Local Government Area and later claimed some of the items were exhibits recovered in Kaduna State.
He further alleged that the officers searched his residence on October 14, 2021, without a valid search warrant.
“The alleged officers searched my residential house on the same night I was arrested without a valid search warrant,” he claimed.
Kamarawa questioned the authenticity of a search warrant later presented in court, alleging discrepancies in the dates and signatures contained in the document.
He alleged that cash, gold, and other valuables taken during the operation were neither returned nor officially documented as exhibits.
The former aide called on the Inspector-General of Police to order a thorough investigation into the allegations.
“For the sake of building confidence in the security system in Nigeria, a holistic investigation needs to be carried out to serve as a deterrent to others,” he stated.
Securitynewsalert.com reached out to Force media public relations officer, CSP Giwa Aliyu, to get the police side of the story, but as at the time of filing this report, he had yet to respond.
