The Northern Civic Governance Coalition has raised serious alarm over what it described as disturbing revelations linking Senator Kabiru Marafa to bandit groups operating in Zamfara.
In a statement by its secretary, Khalid Bello Jega, the coalition said Marafa’s recent public claims that he knows the identities, movements, and locations of violent criminals terrorising communities must trigger an immediate investigation by the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Inspector-General of Police.
Jega said such disclosures “go far beyond political talk”, insisting that no responsible leader would speak with such certainty about criminal gangs unless there was a degree of access that required urgent scrutiny.
The group recalled a controversial incident under former Governor Bello Matawalle, when Marafa allegedly pushed for his elder brother to be appointed Emir of Yan Dota. After the appointment, the emir reportedly bestowed a traditional title on Ado Alero, one of the most notorious bandit commanders on the wanted list.
Matawalle later suspended both the emir and the illegal title, a move the coalition said was necessary to protect the dignity of the institution and prevent political actors from legitimising criminals.
Fresh concerns have now emerged.
A young man working at Marafa’s restaurant, Yan Dota Food Palace, opposite the Zamfara Government House, was recently arrested for allegedly serving as an informant to bandits and leading an operation that resulted in the kidnapping of the family of the Government House secretary.
In a separate case, a bandit arrested in Sokoto reportedly mentioned Marafa’s name while being interrogated.
“These incidents, combined with the senator’s own disclosures about meeting and knowing the whereabouts of bandit leaders, pose a direct threat to public safety and national security,” Jega said.
He stressed that the matter should not be reduced to political argument but treated as an urgent issue of life, security, and the rule of law.
The coalition has therefore called on the Department of State Services to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into Marafa’s alleged links, saying the people of Zamfara “deserve transparency, accountability, and leaders who protect them rather than those who endanger them.”
