The President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, claimed that the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, played a role in creating the ethnic militia group, Kungiya Zaman Lafiya.
Bodejo, who is currently facing terrorism charges, alleged that the governor pressured him to establish the militia group.
He was arrested by the Defence Intelligence Agency on January 23, 2024, and appeared before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on March 22, 2024, facing three counts of terrorism.
Bodejo was specifically accused of forming the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya ethnic militia in Nasarawa State without proper authorization, which is a punishable offense under Section 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bodejo claimed that earlier in the year, he received a call from the governor, who expressed his interest in creating a unique vigilante group, different from others, as reported by Punch.
Bodejo’s confessional statement reads: “I was arrested because of the vigilantes I paraded in Nasarawa State. Sometime in early January 2024, Governor Sule called me and said that he wanted me to see him concerning a Fulani group called Kungiya Zaman Lafiya, which I told him I didn’t know about. The governor said what he called me for was because all the governors had agreed to form vigilante groups in their states like Katsina State had done, but he did not want to organise his like other state governors.
“He said he wanted to use all those who participated in the political rally before the election. And he intended to link them with the Army and they would work for him as vigilantes. The governor asked if I could work with Akajo, the leader of the group and I told him that I couldn’t come down to work with Akajo because I am from the national level.
“Later, I called Akajo to meet me and we discussed how to operate the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya in the state. I told the Emir of Lafia that people complained about the group and I didn’t like them.
“However, I asked Akajo about the number of his men. He said there were about 700 men. I demanded for their ID cards which he showed me; the ID cards were authorised and signed by the CSO to the Nasarawa State governor. About two weeks later, Governor A. A. Sule called me to come with Akajo.”
Bodejo said he met with Akajo and Sule at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
He mentioned that even though he told the governor about the bad things people were saying about Akajo’s group, the governor still wanted him to collaborate with Akajo.
Bodejo said, “So, I left Bauchi and sent for Akajo to meet me at the Governor’s Lodge. When I got to the lodge, I met Akajo with the governor. The governor enquired what was happening between me and Akajo. I told him that Akajo and his group were spoiling the good name of the governor by causing crises, stealing cattle, and killing people.
“They went and cleared the Toto LGA problem. When they got there, they gathered Fulani and harassed them. The Fulani ran away, leaving the cattle. Akajo and his group gathered the cattle and sold them. The governor insisted that I should work with him.”
The leader of Miyetti Allah stated that individuals from Nasarawa, Obi, and Kyana local government areas of the state were supposed to join Akajo’s group. However, they decided not to join because Akajo did not give them their portion of the funds provided by the governor.
He said, “I told the governor that I requested for the group’s list from Akajo so that I could join it with my people to make up the 2,000 and that he had not given me. The governor said we should have a meeting in Lafia. During the meeting, I told the Ardos what the governor wanted to do with the Kuniya Zaman Lafiya and they bought the idea. During the meeting, one member of the Kunya Zaman Lafiya complained that they were not benefiting from anything. I immediately called the governor to inform him.
“The governor affirmed that all funds were released to Akajo for the group, so it was Akajo who failed to settle them. On this revelation, the people were angered and the people from Nasarawa, Obi, and Kyana LGAs said they could not join Akajo’s group. The governor instructed that I should make do with the existing 700 members of the Akajo group and if possible I should make it up to 1,000.”
Bodejo mentioned that after the meeting, he spoke with his friend, Captain Ahmed Chiroma (retired), who suggested that he should make the group’s establishment legal.
Chiroma wrote a document outlining their proposal, which they then presented to the governor.
However, Bodejo stated that the governor ultimately turned down their proposal.
He said, “After the meeting, I met one of my friends, Captain Ahmed Chiroma (retd.), who is the deputy secretary of the Presidential Think Tank and explained everything to him. Captain advised that I make it legal; he said he would put a write-up for the governor, which he did, and the two of us went to present it to the governor. I don’t know what he wrote but after the governor read the paper, he said no that he wanted to run the state the way he wanted.”
Bodejo mentioned that the governor asked him to meet with the Secretary to the State Government to discuss the cost of getting kits for 1,000 members of the group.
The leader of Miyetti Allah stated that Chiroma warned him to be cautious because the group’s formation was against the law.
He added, “The governor said I should meet the SSG and tell him the cost of procuring 1,000 uniforms and kits. Chiroma advised me to be careful with the governor because what he was doing was illegal. That is number one; the governor can’t just carry one tribe of Fulani as vigilantes, and secondly, he can’t carry one as security. He did not build schools for them, just this security vigilante group.”
Bodejo shared that the governor called him the next day to ask about the progress of setting up the group, and he requested two weeks to make arrangements.
Feeling unsure, Bodejo reached out to Chiroma for advice, who suggested creating a nomad vigilante group and registering it with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
He stated, “The following day, I was on my way to Bauchi and the governor called me. So I stopped to see him in Lafia and he inquired about the arrangements. I told him to give us two weeks. I informed Akajo and sent a text message to Captain Chiroma, who agreed that we should meet in Bauchi. While in Bauchi, Chiroma advised that I should inform the governor that we would not use the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya, rather we would use Miyetti Allah and register it as a nomadic vigilante group.
“The governor said he had released funds for the uniform that I should contact the SSG, and when I contacted him (SSG), he directed me to the state Deputy Commissioner of Police. He gave me N14,500,000, but I learned that the governor gave N15,000,000. I informed Captain Chiroma about the money and he advised that we should quickly register the nomadic vigilante group with the CAC to give us cover. We registered the group and were issued a certificate.”
Bodejo mentioned that he registered the group and then received the uniforms, which he presented to the governor.
The leader of Miyetti Allah said the governor was upset and told him to add “Kungiya Zaman Lafiya” to the badges of the uniforms.
He said, “We sewed the uniforms and put badges that showed the Nomadic Vigilante Group of Nigeria. When we took the sample to the governor, he asked us who told us that what he wanted was Kungiya Zaman Lafiya. He said I should remove the badges of the Nomadic Vigilante Group from the uniform and put Kungiya Zaman Lafiya. The governor was very angry with me and I left.”
He claimed that the governor instructed him to bring the Commissioner of Police and Director of the Department of State Services to his office.
Even though the meeting ended before he arrived at the governor’s office, Bodejo stated that Sule told him to showcase the group on January 17, 2024.
He added, “On January 12, 2024, the governor called me and I told him I was in Bauchi. He said I should come with the state Commissioner of Police and the Director of the DSS. However, before I could arrive from Bauchi, they had finished the meeting. I met the governor after the Jummat prayer and he said I should meet him in his office. He said he had directed that we should parade the Kungiya Zaman Lafiya with the uniform on January 17, 2024. He told me that he met the Commissioner of Police and the DSS Director.”
Bodejo mentioned that he had a meeting with the CP who supported the governor’s directive, but the DSS director advised him to be cautious.
He said, “I met the Commissioner of Police and asked him if he supported the governor’s idea and he said yes. When I met the Director of DSS, he said we all knew that what the governor was doing was wrong but that he was the governor; that if I said I couldn’t do it, he might tag me as an enemy of the state and sponsoring bandits. He advised me that I should be wise about it.”
The leader of Miyetti Allah stated that he received N7.5m from the N15m provided by the governor to transport group members and book the venue for the unveiling event.
He said, “The Deputy Commissioner of Police gave me N7,500,000 out of the N15,000,000 released by the governor for the transportation of the group members to Lafia and payment for the hall in Lafia.”
Bodejo noted that during the unveiling, the governor, his SSG, and other officials were not present.
He stated, “On January 17, 2024, we assembled all the members in the hall in Lafia. On getting to the venue, I did not see the governor and the SSG. I called the governor and he told me he was in Abuja because the judgment on his case would come up on January 18, 2024, at the Supreme Court and that I should continue. I asked about the SSG or any governor’s representative. He gave different excuses for their absence. Then I sensed trouble.”
He realized afterwards that the governor intended to sideline him in order to have complete control over the group for questionable purposes against the Fulani community.
Bodejo said, “The governor directed that I should march the group to the office of the Commissioner of Police after the ceremony. I did exactly that. However, it dawned on me after the whole exercise that the governor’s agenda was to extricate me from the state so that he could have his way to use the group to his advantage.
“I know that I am the only person who can stop the group from performing some nefarious activities against the Fulani. So now that I am arrested, his purpose has been accomplished because he knows that I never liked the group before he tactically involved me and backed out during the launch.”
