Wanted Terrorist, Bello Turji Asks Military Why They’ve Not Killed Him

Turji, a notable terrorist and bandit leader active in northern Nigeria, mainly Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger states, has stated that the Nigerian government is uninterested in stopping banditry since some of its officials gain from it.

Turji, in response to the recent aerial bombardment of his residence by military jets, accused the government of inciting them (terrorists) to breach their peace treaty with the inhabitants.

Turji led his group to carry out a slaughter in Zamfara earlier this year, killing around 200 people, including women and children.

See Letter Written By Bandit Kingpin Bello Turji, To Buhari Demanding For Dialogue

On August 21, this year, however, Zamfara state’s Deputy Governor, Senator Muhammad Hassan Nasiha, claimed that Turji had accepted peace. On September 18, however, he narrowly evaded death when the Nigerian Air Force bombed his residence in Fakai village, Shinkafi local government area, Zamfara state, killing 12 of his fighters and relatives.

On November 14, the Defence Headquarters declared him and 18 other terrorists wanted, with a N5m bounty on their heads.

In response to the attack on his home, the bandits’ warlord accused the government of violating the peace treaty they had with him to end banditry and protect the people of the Shinkafi axis from any attack.

Turji, speaking on the phone with an online Hausa television channel monitored by Saturday Vanguard, expressed resentment over the air raid on his home and the slaughter of innocent people after agreeing with government authorities and community leaders to give up banditry.

His words: “I wonder if truly the government wanted to kill me. I think they only wanted to provoke me by making me renege on my promise not to kill anyone. If they could spot my house why couldn’t they sight and kill me because I only left the house a couple of minutes when the bombardment occurred.

“The people should know their enemy from the onset. The government is provoking us so that we will take revenge on the poor masses.

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“The government is only fooling the gullible and naive people that they want to end banditry whereas in actual sense, they are the ones fueling the activities of the bandits and also benefiting from them.

“Peace is priceless and I’m ready to be a peace advocate unless the government wants me to be a warmonger. I’m ready for either peace or war. Whatever, the government wants, we can give them a multitude.”

According to him, “there have not been any attacks in the last five months since we reached a truce with the government but now that the military has attacked our home, we feel betrayed especially after the death of vulnerable people in the air strikes. The government only succeeded in destroying some part of my house and other buildings belonging to the innocent people.

“For the past five months, we didn’t attack or kill anyone around Shinkafi. As a result, farming and other businesses were flourishing without any hitches. I feel embarrassed when my name was mentioned after the attacks by other terrorists”.

The notorious bandit leader was exerting his authority in his area of control by imposing a N20 million “Protection Levy” on Moriki community, which is located 33km along Kaura Namoda-Shinkafi road, as the Defence Headquarters declared they were seeking for Turji and announced a N5m price tag on him.

Turji imposed the N20m fee on the residents of the community and demanded payment by Sunday, November 27, or face his wrath.

He threatened to assault the Zamfara village if the money was not paid on time.

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He stated that if the community can raise and deliver the money within two weeks, there should be no fear of attacks and every farmer in the town should be able to tend to his farmland without worry.

Turji’s attacks on Moriki and other neighboring settlements, according to residents, have grown since the NAF raid on his property near Fakai village in the neighboring Shinkafi local government district in September.

A resident, Sani Moriki, said, “after he imposed the levy we met at the community level to see what we could do to raise the said amount of money bearing in our minds the consequences of ignoring his demand.

“We came up with an idea that every household in the community must pay N6,500 and if we add it up we would get the N20 million for onward delivery before the deadline ends.

“We were able to raise N10.6 million as some community members defaulted. We used N100,000 to buy them packs of cigarette, loaves of bread, soft drinks and recharge cards as they instructed.

“Seven members of the community were mobilized and dispatched to deliver the money at an agreed spot near Kasayawa, a community located 1km east of Moriki town. After the delivery team arrived at the location, seventeen Turji boys rode to the spot and asked for the money and other items we bought for them.

“However, when Turji’s attention was drawn to the fact that the money brought was N10.5 million not N20 million as agreed he became angry and ordered his boys to hold five out of seven members of the delivery team. He asked them to take the residents to one of his camps in Jirari forest straddling Zurmi and Shinkafi local government areas. Two of them escaped and arrived home this morning.

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“We are now put on edge and we have started making effort to reach out to him that we will deliver the balance of N10 million to him. We are in a serious trouble as a people,”

The villagers, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief a few days ago when they finally finished the levy and presented it to him.

According to an indigene of the area who requested anonymity for security reasons, the money was eventually paid last Sunday, and some people who had fled to other places had begun to return to the village.

“Many people including myself have returned to the village because of the payment of the levy. Few farmers are also going to the farm although confidence is not totally back.

“We paid additional sum of N6 million for the release of five people abducted by the terrorists who belonged to Bello Turji’s camp”, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Murtala A. Rufa’i of Usman Danfodio University exposed the names of several terrorist commanders, the location of their enclave, and even the membership strength of each terrorist group in his book titled “I’m a bandit.”

According to the book, there are approximately 62 gangs of bandits in Zamfara state’s local government units of Maradun, Maru, Shinkafi, Zurmi, Birnin magaji, and Tsafe.

Samaila of Bryan Dutse controls 150 members in Maradun Local Government; Jimmo Fadama of Bayan Ruwa controls 80 members; Simoli Jaya of Bayan Ruwa controls 65 members; Sahabi of Bayan Ruwa controls 250 members; Naakka of Bayan Ruwa controls 180 members; Sani Baruwanka of Dagwarwa village controls 250 members; Maibokolo of Dajin yartunniya controls 300 members

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Bello Turji of Fakai village has 2,500 members, Atarwatse of Dajin Mashema has 200 members, Danmakwado of Kamarawa and Barawa villages has 550 members, and Nagona of Surduku has 200 members in Shinkafi local government.

Tsafe local government has Idi of Guga village, who has 100 people in his camp; Baba Yayi of Guga, who also has 100 members; Juli of Kwankwanba village, who has 100 members; and Tukur of Munhaye, who has 90 members.

The researcher claims that Zurmi local government has four notorious bandit organizations, including Dankarami of Tsanu village, which has 750 members. North Mayasa’s Kachalla has 1,200 members, and North Labunde’s Maidaji has 1,500 members.

All of the groups in Birnin Magaji local government live in Rugu village, and they are led by Alhaji Zaki, who has 85 members, Yalo (Yellow), who has 60 members, and Hassan, who has 28 members.

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