Around 5,000 people have fled their homes across multiple villages in Sokoto State after notorious bandits leader Bello Turji commanded residents to evacuate or face deadly consequences.
Both community members and lawmaker Habibu Halilu Modachi confirmed the forced exodus to AFP on Monday. “Between Saturday and Sunday, over 5,000 people have been forced out of their homes in Bafarawa and several nearby communities as a result of threats of attack from Bello Turji,” Modachi said. “Turji sent his men to these communities and asked them to leave by Sunday afternoon or risk being killed.”
The mass departure stems from accusations that locals had tipped off military forces about the bandits’ movements. According to residents, Turji’s fighters swept through the Isa district, a region bordering Niger Republic, ordering entire villages to empty out or be massacred.
Most of the displaced are now crammed into Isa town, Shinkafi in Zamfara, or scattered across safer areas where they are seeking refuge with relatives. However, conditions remain dire. “Even this morning the bandits killed two people, injured nine and kidnapped seven others,” Modachi reported.
In another affected village, Abubakar Altine described a harrowing attack that left several casualties. “We fled to Isa where we are living with no food or shelter. We don’t know what to do,” Altine told reporters by phone.
Ahmad Abdullahi, another escapee, recounted how gunmen stormed his community and looted everything in sight. “They kept firing indiscriminately and seized money, foodstuffs and anything of value from residents,” Abdullahi said.
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Turji, now 31, first abandoned cattle herding for criminal activities in 2011. After military airstrikes decimated his strongholds in Zamfara State in December 2021, he relocated to Sokoto where he reestablished his bases. Despite multiple so called peace deals struck with Zamfara authorities, Turji repeatedly returned to violent campaigns against rural populations. Locals and security personnel describe him as both revered and feared; many in affected areas believe he possesses mystical powers rendering him untouchable. Over time, Turji has seized control of three districts where he extorts compulsory levies from villagers, unleashing brutal raids on communities that fail to comply. Victims say no one is spared, not women, not children.
In February 2021, Turji surfaced in a widely shared video threatening to invite foreign armed groups to further destabilise Nigeria. Earlier this year, Nigerian forces launched airstrikes on his camps in both Sokoto and Zamfara, reportedly killing key commanders and forcing Turji into hiding. Yet, the latest displacement shows his influence remains intact, and government efforts to curb his terror have once again fallen short.
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