₦airaland Forum

Bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, has reportedly imposed a reign of fear and extortion across eastern Sokoto and parts of Zamfara State, forcing dozens of rural communities to pay over N100m in illegal levies within the last 50 days, local sources have revealed.

According to eyewitnesses and local monitors, 34 communities across eastern Isa and Sabon Birni local government areas in Sokoto, as well as Shinkafi LG in Zamfara, were compelled to pay what Turji’s gang calls “peace levies” — mandatory payments in exchange for access to farmland during the current rainy season.

The extortion scheme is said to be coordinated from Turji’s notorious Gwali Gwali camp, which has become a hub for armed operations and hostage detention in the region.

“The bandits told villagers they must pay or abandon their farms. It’s a tax system under threats and guns,” said Basharu Altine, a community advocate familiar with the situation.

Communities affected include many already impoverished by years of insecurity.

In several villages, farmers reportedly pooled resources to meet the gang’s demands, fearing violence or abduction if they failed to comply.

In addition to the levies, between 85 and 150 people, mostly from Isa, Sabon Birni, and Shinkafi, are believed to be held hostage at the Gwali Gwali camp.

Locals said many were abducted during attacks on rural markets and homes in recent months.

Many farmers who could not afford the levies abandoned their fields, raising concerns over looming food shortages.

“We cannot continue living under the shadow of warlords. Our people are paying to survive on their own land,” a local elder lamented.

Despite Turji’s years on the security watchlist, residents said law enforcement presence in affected communities remained weak.

When contacted, Sokoto State Police Command spokesman, Ahmed Rufai, said the command was unaware of the incident. He, however, assured The PUNCH that the police would investigate and act on the report.

Meanwhile, claims in some quarters that Turji had surrendered his weapons and renounced banditry have been strongly refuted by residents of Zamfara State.

Speaking to The PUNCH on Tuesday, Garba Sani, a resident of Shinkafi LG, said there was “no iota of truth” in the reported surrender of the bandit leader.

“It is not true that Bello Turji has repented and surrendered his weapons.

“The story is not only untrue but baseless, and we have yet to receive our people currently in his captivity,” Sani said.

The story of Turji surrendering some arms and freeing some hostages was viral online on Tuesday.

Sani, however, alleged that Turji and his fighters have a history of deception to avoid military offensives.

“They always pretend whenever arrests or operations are imminent,” he said.

He added that Turji remained active within parts of Sokoto, Zamfara, and across the border in the Republic of Niger.

“If he has actually surrendered and released his captives, let the relevant authorities come out and explain,” he said.

Efforts to reach the Special Adviser on Security to the Zamfara State Governor, Ahmed Danmanga, and the state’s PPRO, Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful as they did not respond to calls.

LagosOrigin:
Do we still have president in this country or he has abandoned his job to monitor every move that Peter Obi makes while the country is being burnt to the ground by terrorists

Has tinubu forgotten his role as president

treesun:
https://punchng.com/sokoto-zamfara-farmers-lament-as-turji-extorts-n100m-peace-levies/

LagosOrigin:
Do we still have president in this country or he has abandoned his job to monitor every move that Peter Obi makes while the country is being burnt to the ground by terrorists

Has tinubu forgotten his role as president

eldoradoxx:
Federal Government should hire Israeli intelligence to track and eliminate this idiota since he is smarter than the entire intelligence architecture of Nigeria and everyone who works in the intelligence and security system of Nigeria should be ashamed of themselves for failing the nation.