Court Orders Retrieval Of 50 Official Vehicles From Ex-Zamfara Gov Matawalle

Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto orders retrieval of 50 official vehicles from Ex-Zamfara Governor Matawalle.

The court rejected Matawalle’s claim to the ownership of the official vehicles taken away while leaving the office.

A Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto has ordered the Zamfara State Government to retrieve over 50 official luxury vehicles in possession of the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle.

Recall that a Federal High Court in Gusau had ordered the Zamfara State Government to return the vehicles that was recovered from Matawalle’s residences, following a raid by the police in June.

According to a statement by the Spokesperson of the Zamfara State Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, the Sokoto division of the Federal High Court rejected Matawalle’s claims of ownership of the official vehicles in question.

The statement read in parts:

“Recall that in June, the Zamfara State Government gave the former governor and his deputy five working days to return all official vehicles taken away.

“All demands for the return of the said vehicles proved abortive, and as a result, the Zamfara State Government resorted to obtaining a court order to retrieve them. In pursuit of that order, a total number of over 50 vehicles were recovered by the police.

“After the vehicles were recovered, Bello Matawalle quickly went to the Federal High Court in Gusau. The court granted an order for the cars to be returned to him. Additionally, he filed a separate suit at the same court, seeking to enforce his fundamental right to own property, including the vehicles in question.

“The Zamfara State Government requested the transfer of the case to another jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

“The Federal High Court of Nigeria, Sokoto Judicial Division, dismissed the matter on Friday. The court refused the reliefs sought by Bello Matawalle and rejected his claim to the ownership of the official vehicles. As a result, the vehicles are still considered the property of the Zamfara State Government.”

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