A former Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has lost a case in which he claimed ownership of official vehicles he took away on leaving office last May.
The Federal High Court in Sokoto dismissed the suit, which was filed by Matawalle, and ruled that the vehicles are still considered the property of the Zamfara State government.
In June, the police raided Matawalle’s residences and seized the vehicles as ordered by the court.
The former governor and his cabinet members had taken away all official vehicles belonging to the state government, leaving the present administration with nothing to use.
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The Zamfara State government had requested the return of the vehicles, but all demands proved abortive, leading to the court order to retrieve them.
After the vehicles were recovered, Matawalle filed a separate suit at the same court seeking to enforce his fundamental right to own property, including the vehicles in question.
However, the court refused the reliefs sought by Bello Matawalle and rejected his claim to the ownership of the official vehicles.
The judgment by the Federal High Court will encourage the Zamfara State government to ensure that justice prevails and all perpetrators of financial banditry in Zamfara are brought to book.
