Notorious bandit leader Bello Turji has made fresh allegations against two former governors from northern Nigeria, accusing them of playing major roles in worsening insecurity across parts of Zamfara and Sokoto states.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Turji claimed that the roots of the prolonged violence, banditry, and displacement currently ravaging the region can be traced to decisions taken by past political leaders while they were in office.
According to Turji, he personally attended several peace meetings with the Zamfara State government during the administration of a former governor, insisting that such engagements were aimed at finding lasting solutions to the crisis rather than personal gain.
He dismissed widespread reports that he received ₦30 million or other forms of financial inducement to participate in peace talks, describing such claims as deliberate attempts to tarnish his image and distort the facts surrounding the negotiations.
The bandit leader further alleged that previous administrations armed and empowered local vigilante groups popularly known as ‘Yan Banga,’ accusing them of targeting Fulani communities and escalating violence instead of restoring peace.
Turji argued that the activities of these vigilante groups, allegedly supported by former state governments, deepened ethnic tensions and fueled cycles of reprisal attacks across rural communities.
He went on to accuse the former governors of failing to protect lives and property, claiming that their actions and policies directly contributed to the humanitarian crisis currently facing residents of Zamfara and Sokoto states.
Calling for accountability, Turji urged security agencies to arrest and thoroughly investigate the former Sokoto and Zamfara governors, insisting that they should be held responsible for the instability in their states.
“We openly say that former governors of Zamfara and Sokoto states are responsible for the calamities that befell these states,” Turji asserted in the video.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain official responses from the accused former governors proved unsuccessful.
However, sources close to them have strongly rejected Turji’s claims, dismissing the allegations as baseless and misleading.
“Why would anyone place value on the words of a terrorist? He is only trying to present himself as a victim. It is all lies,” one source was quoted as saying.
The video has continued to generate widespread reactions online, with Nigerians divided over Turji’s claims, as debates rage about political accountability, insecurity, and the complex roots of banditry in northern Nigeria.