Following the recent killing of a notorious bandit leader, Halilu Sububu and scores of his foot soldiers by Nigerian troops, the Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal has expressed confidence that it is a matter of time before popular bandit kingpin, Bello Turji will be eliminated.
Turji has, over the years, turned himself into the king of terror in Zamfara and its environs, kidnapping and killing his victims as well as collecting ransom running into billions of naira and regularly making videos where he mocks security operatives.
But Lawal, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday night, said he is positive that the reign of terror by
Turji would soon be brought to an end.
“It’s only a matter of time,” Lawal said.
“With what we have in place, with the collaboration between us, the state government, and the Federal Government, security agencies, believe me, it is only a matter of time; Turji would be killed very, very soon.”
The governor noted that though killing of terrorists by security forces would not immediately end insurgency, it will bring it down significantly.
“There is the need for a sustained pressure on the bandits. This is crucial for ending banditry completely. What we need to do is to sustain this military pressure.
“If we are able to sustain this pressure within the next two weeks to one month, believe me, it will be a different story as far as banditry is concerned,” the governor said
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The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, had also assured that Turji’s days as a terror kingpin were numbered as he would soon be arrested.
Musa who gave the assurance during a press briefing in Abuja on September 10, described the bandit leader as a deranged fellow who would soon meet his waterloo.
Reacting to Turji’s imposition of a N50 million levy on some communities as ransom for the killing of Fulani cows by soldiers, the CDS said the military was working with other security agencies and the state government to provide adequate protection for the citizens.
“On the issue of Turji, like I said, it is just a deranged individual who feels power, but I can bet you that it is just a matter of time,” Musa said.
“We are going to get him and I can assure you within the shortest possible time, we are going to address that issue.
“That is why we all must come together to work with members of the armed forces and security agencies to deny them the ability to move freely within our communities.
“Please do not give them any support. Do not give them information on the movement of troops because this is what is happening.
“Most of the area where this thing is continuing is because we have informants within the communities.
“You are dealing with non-state actors that are not wearing uniforms, you don’t know them, but they know you.
“And within the communities, if you don’t have the support of the community, it makes it extremely very difficult,” he added.
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