₦airaland Forum

Bandits loyal to the notorious warlord, Bello Turji, have carried out coordinated assaults on communities in the Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing scores and abducting dozens in a three-day wave of violence between Wednesday, August 14, and Friday, August 16.

The attacks claimed the lives of villagers, a soldier, and a vigilante, while many residents remain unaccounted for.

Eyewitnesses said the gunmen moved from settlement to settlement, terrorising communities and seizing captives.

“On Wednesday, they ambushed travellers along the Yankasuwa–Masawa Road, intercepting vehicles and abducting everyone on board,” a survivor recounted.

“By Thursday, they had struck Garki village, taking 16 residents. One of the captives was later killed, another released, while the bandits rustled three cows.

“On Friday, they stormed Turtsawa and Faru villages near Sabon Birni town, where 28 villagers were abducted. Families are still searching for loved ones,” the witness added.

The Movement for Social Justice in Sokoto State, which has been tracking the crisis, confirmed the casualty figures.

“In just four to five days, our records show these coordinated attacks. What we know is based on reports from the ground; there may be more unreported cases. We call on the Sokoto State Government to rise to the occasion and implement our recommendations to end the atrocities committed by Bello Turji’s boys,” the group said in a statement.

Residents have since offered prayers for the victims and are appealing for urgent security intervention to stem what they described as “unrelenting violence” in eastern Sokoto.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmed Rufai, promised to respond but had yet to do so at press time.

Similarly, calls to the governor’s Special Adviser on Security Matters, Col. Ahmed Usman (retd), were not answered.

The Defence Headquarters had said last week that it was still on the trail of the notorious bandit kingpin, dismissing a report claiming that he had surrendered and was open to amnesty by the government.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, who spoke last Thursday in Abuja during a briefing on the activities of the Armed Forces, said, “Bello Turji has not surrendered; we are still on the lookout for him.”

Turji, a wanted bandit leader operating mainly in Zamfara and Sokoto states, has been accused of masterminding several attacks on communities in the North-West.

Recently, there were reports that the bandit leader had surrendered his arms and released 32 kidnap victims following a peace initiative brokered by Islamic clerics in Zamfara State.

jmoore:
Tinubu should grant amnesty to Turji. He has granted amnesty to many terrorists from the north. So he should extend same gesture to Bello Turji.

Kingosytex:
I can't imagine some ragtag terrorists operating in America, killing and kidnapping American citizens
I can't imagine that.
Nigeria is a forsaken place.

Racoon:
Infact, the FG should make Bello Turji as the ambassador of renewed and revitalized terrorists. Shebi nah the new trend now be that? Awarding ambassadorial role to lawbreakers?

LagosOrigin:
Just imagine all are happening in south east , the tinubu free laptop boys will be jumping everywhere to comment. But now that it happening in the north, you won't see the sycophants comment .

LagosOrigin:
Just imagine all are happening in south east , the tinubu free laptop boys will be jumping everywhere to comment. But now that it happening in the north, you won't see the sycophants comment .

Looking4Trouble:
No kee yourself over KWAM-1 and lady KWAM-2 matter oooo

Kingosytex:
I can't imagine some ragtag terrorists operating in America, killing and kidnapping American citizens
I can't imagine that.
Nigeria is a forsaken place.

Nukilia:
The young man should setup a ring light and apologize to the CAS, CDS, ONSA, C-in-C.

Turji might become ambassador for forest security.

A cornfused nation

gigabyte13:
Are you not ashamed.
Are you justifying killings by region....?
Shake your head very well oooooooooo
You sure say brain still dey inside....??

omooba969:
Is it not the same Bello Turji the Nigerian army announced that they've eliminated, or is there another Bello Turji out there?