Allegations that infamous bandit lord Bello Turji has obtained advanced weapons and is working with Boko Haram members to educate and equip fresh recruits have raised new concerns about the security situation in Nigeria’s northwest.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service that was observed in Kaduna on Monday, Bashir Altine Guyawa Isa, the head of Rundunar Adalchi in Sokoto State, made the assertions.
Isa claimed that local vigilante organisations have access to intelligence showing Turji and his accomplices have set up a training camp close to the Sokoto-Zamfara border, where recruits are being prepared for future operations.
He claims that the camp has been around for a while and acts as a base for the enlistment, training, and brainwashing of fighters who are then sent to assault other North-West villages.
Additionally, he asserted that Boko Haram members are giving the fighters logistical support and training, which he claimed has improved the operating capacities of criminal organisations in the area.
Isa voiced concern that the purported camp’s prolonged existence could jeopardise ongoing security agency efforts to restore calm in impacted communities and pose a major threat to public safety.
Additionally, he said that authorities are aware of the site and demanded immediate action to demolish it. He cautioned that local security groups’ intelligence indicated the terrorists may be intending to extend their operations and target important installations and well-known people.
In order to stop other attacks, kidnappings, and other violent crimes in Sokoto, Zamfara, and neighbouring states, the vigilante commander encouraged security services and government officials to step up military and intelligence-driven operations.
Security authorities have not officially addressed the accusations as of the time this report was filed.
Additionally, Isa’s statements have not been independently confirmed.
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