A United States lawmaker, Representative Kimberly Daniels, has urged President Bola Tinubu to relieve the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, of his office, in order to restore the integrity of the Defence Ministry.
Daniels, who is Chairwoman of the Supreme Council of the United World Congress of Diplomats, UN-WCD,
made the recommendation in a press statement tagged:
Assessment On Nigeria’s Security Crisis In Relation To The Genocide Of Christians In Nigeria.
According to the statement,
which contained recommendations to the U.S. Government and International Partners, on the raging insecurity in Nigeria, the removal or redeployment of Matawalle was necessary in order to restore the integrity of the defence ministry.
The statement added that doing so would tame the escalating wave of terrorism and recent mass killings in Nigeria’s North-Central and Northwestern regions.
The report examined the strategic implications of current Nigerian security leadership following a series of brutal attacks during the 2026 Easter period that left dozens of Christians dead in Plateau, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states.
While condemning the “brutal surge in violence that specifically targeted religious congregations during Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services”, it regretted that “Despite condemnation from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, local leaders and survivors report a growing disconnection between government rhetoric and the reality of safety on the ground.
According to the statement,
“After reviewing the results of the report, Representative Daniels and other board members expressed grave concern over the strategic implications of retaining Bello Matawalle as the Minister of State for Defence”.
The report identified “red flags” including: credibility and integrity concerns, ethical governance, and
strategic inconsistency.
It, therefore, urged Tinubu to “look inward” and remove elements that compromise national security, while urging him to conduct a transparent investigation into allegations of high-level complicity with banditry to regain the trust of the Nigerian people.
In the same vein, the report called for enhanced protection through the implementation of a more robust security measures for vulnerable communities in the North-Central and Northwestern zones.
