Notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji has broken his silence following an attack that killed soldiers in Sokoto State, even as fresh intelligence raises alarm over his group’s growing arsenal.
At least two soldiers were killed and several others injured when an improvised explosive device detonated on a military vehicle heading to Bargaja community in Isa Local Government Area. The troops were responding to a distress call after bandits invaded the village between 12:30am and 3:00am on Saturday, shooting sporadically and forcing residents to seek military help.
A resident said attackers had planted the IED along the Isa-Bargaja road ahead of the soldiers’ arrival. In a video released afterward, Turji said his fighters had triumphed over rivals accused of rustling livestock and killing residents across Isa, Zamfara, Sokoto, Sabon Birni and surrounding areas, claiming his men had killed some attackers and recovered stolen livestock.
The claims have not been independently verified.Separately, Basharu Altine Guyawa Isa, Sokoto State Coordinator of the Movement for Social Justice and Good Governance, alleged in a Facebook post that Turji is reinforcing his fighting force along the Sokoto-Zamfara border.
He claimed fighters under Illa Manawa and Turji’s brother Bomi were conducting weapons training with newly acquired arms, some allegedly used in recent clashes with security forces, in an area spanning Bingabale Kudu, Bafarawa East and Bargaja.
Basharu further alleged that fighters with suspected Boko Haram links had arrived to train Turji’s men, and that a night-vision device acquired last week formed part of a new equipment delivery.
He named bandit commanders Kachalla Haru Dole and Kachalla Ibrahim Chimo as facilitators of the arms movement, alleging a growing alliance between Chimo and Turji aimed at expanding influence across eastern Sokoto — one he fears could be laying groundwork for coordinated attacks on five local government headquarters before the rainy season peaks.
