On March 21, Dauda Lawal, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Zamfara State.
Lawal made waves in northern Nigeria’s political scene by securing 377,726 votes, defeating the incumbent governor, Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 311,976 votes.
Born on September 2, 1965, in Gusau, Zamfara State, Lawal earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.
In 2003, he joined First Bank of Nigeria PLC, where he held several roles until 2012, when he became the executive director, public sector north. Lawal’s political career took off in 2018 when he ran for governor in Zamfara, though he lost in the primaries.
ALLEGATION OF FRAUD
In May 2016, Lawal was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly assisting Dieziani Allison-Madueke, a former petroleum minister, in laundering around $55 million.
A prosecution witness, a former group general manager at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), testified before a Lagos High Court, claiming to have delivered 12 padlocked bags filled with millions of dollars to Lawal on the orders of Allison-Madueke.
On February 16, 2017, the court ordered Lawal to forfeit N9.08 billion, the total amount found in his accounts at the time.
SUPREME COURT RULING
In October 2019, Lawal appealed the High Court ruling, stating that the N9.08 billion in his possession was money borrowed on his behalf by family and friends while he was in EFCC custody. He also denied any involvement in laundering money for Allison-Madueke.
The Appeal Court overturned the High Court’s decision and ordered the money to be returned to Lawal. When the EFCC escalated the case to the Supreme Court, a five-member panel, on March 13, 2021, unanimously upheld the Appeal Court ruling, declaring the accusations against Lawal as “fabricated and baseless.”