A memo insinuating that the Zamfara State Sovernment had released a sum of N1.3 billion to some bandits’ kingpins for dialogue in the state has been going viral online.
The letter purportedly signed by the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government also claimed that money was paid to some media promoters including Sahara Reporters under the guise of “reconciliation efforts” from the state’s Security Trust Fund.
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The letter reads:
“Your Excellency,
The Executive Governor,
Government House Gusau.
Sir,
RE- NORTH-WESTERN GOVERNORS/
UN-ORGANIZED SECURITY SUMMIT IN KATSINA
Above subject matter refers.
His Excellency may wish to refer to the above subject matter and the directives by Your Excellency to implement far-reaching decisions to curb the ugly menace of insecurity bedeviling the state.
Your Excellency, the banditry, has brought bloodbaths and wanton destruction of lives, property, and the socioeconomic prosperity of our great state and requires government prompt action.
His Excellency may wish to take the cognisance of the fact that the level of insecurity in the state has now reached that of a dangerous cancer worm that has ravaged the fabrics of our social and psychological existence. In view of this urgent need and the directives by Your Excellency to provide funds to finance the state government reconciliation programme with bandits in order to bring the menace to an end, I wish to submit the proposal as follows for Your Excellency’s kind approval:
A. BANDITS KINGPINS
1. Kachalla Dogo Gide = N200,000,000
2. Kachalla Bello Turji = N200,000,000
3. Ado Alero = N200,000,000
4. Kachalla Halilu Sububu = N150,000,000
5. Gwaska Dan Karami = N150,000,000
B. MEDIA PROMOTERS
6. Sahara Reporters = N100,000,000
7. Jackson Ude = N158,000,000
8. Bashir Hadejia = N100,000,000
9. Shuaibu Mungadi = N50,000,000
10. Tijjani Lamaran = N50,000,000
11. Danbilki Kwamanda = N20,000,000
Total
= N1,378,000,000
His Excellency may wish to note that the sum of One Billion, Three Hundred and Seventy Eight Million Naira is required to implement the project.
In view of the importance of this project and the several initiatives Zamfara State has undertaken to address security challenges facing the state, His Excellency is therefore invited to:
1. Approve the above expenditure from the state Security Trust Fund.
2. Direct the state ministry of finance to release the said amount for distribution to the beneficiaries listed above as a matter of urgency.
Signed,
Mallam Abubakar M. Nakwada
Secretary to the State Government.
The claim has gone viral on multiple social media platforms, including on WhatsApp.
CLAIM
Viral letter shows Zamfara State Government allocated money to bandits and media houses for dialogue over insecurity in the state.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, as the letter is fake and filled with multiple grammatical errors.
First, The FactCheckHub observed that the letter is not written on any letterhead and doesn’t come in the usual formats of an official letter. Official letters from high-level government officials, such as state governors or secretaries, typically include a coat of arms, seal, or emblem that reflects the office of the sender.
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Upon review, some grammatical and stylistic errors could be seen which undermine the authenticity of the letter.
For instance, the salutation “Your Excellency” is followed by a full stop, whereas formal letters typically use a comma in such cases.
Moreover, the phrase “Above subject matter refers” is awkward and grammatically incorrect. The correct phrasing should be “The above subject matter refers” or “Reference is made to the above subject.”
The use of “the banditry” in “Your Excellency, the banditry, has brought bloodbaths…” is erroneous. The correct expression should omit “the,” making it “Your Excellency, banditry has brought bloodbaths…”
Finally, typographical errors include an inconsistent spacing before commas in figures like “N200,000,000” and “N1,378,000,000,” reflecting poor formatting.
Some of the items listed, such as large financial allocations to individuals and media outlets, raise questions about the legitimacy of the request. Official documents rarely allocate funds in such a straightforward manner, and the request for such large sums of money would typically involve much more rigorous justification and documentation. These cannot be found in the letter.
Meanwhile, The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abubakar Nakwada, who addressed newsmen in Gusau on September 5, 2024 said the documents “were not only fake but also mischievous, misleading, malicious and false.”
Nakwada said that the information was completely false and the documents with his signature and other top government officials being circulated by some social media outlets were forged.
THE VERDICT
The viral letter is FALSE, as the content was not on any official letterhead and filled with grammatical errors. Also, the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Abubakar Nakwada, has debunked the claim, saying the document is fake, forged, and malicious.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
WHY NOT ANALYZE THE HAND WRITING BEFORE MAKING CONCLUSION PLEASE?