It’s been two weeks now after Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Chris Musa vowed to arrest notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, but the renegade is still running loose, causing havoc, kidnapping innocent Nigerians and collecting millions of naira in ransom.
Turji has even gone a step further by playing Robin Hood, doling out huge sums of money in giveaways and releasing TikTok videos where he is seen mocking the Nigerian security agencies.
“It is a matter of time, we’re going to get him, and I can assure you that it will be within the shortest possible time,” the CDS had assured.
Meanwhile, the military has continued a relentless onslaught against other bandit kingpins and have been relatively successful in eliminating a number of them.
In the last two months, not less than 30 of such bandits have been sent to the great beyond in different attacks in the North West, particularly in Zamfara and Sokoto states.
But, as Nigerians wait for Musa to fulfill his promise of hunting down the bandit leader, the attacks by bandits and other insurgents have not ceased.
There have been pockets of attacks in the month of September, the same month the CDS made the vow to nab Turji and put an end to his reign of terror.
Below is a rundown of some of the reported attacks since Gen Musa vowed to end insecurity.
On September 11th, a day after the CDS’s promise to arrest Turji, suspected Boko Haram terrorists launched an audacious attack on Bassa town in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
According to locals, the attack began around 5:30 a.m., with residents reporting sounds of sporadic gunfire echoing through the town and when they were done, several villagers were killed.
It was also reported that some soldiers including a high-ranking captain, were killed.
On September 12th, three soldiers and four policemen were ambushed and killed by bandits in Zamfara State.
The State’s Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Dalijan who confirmed the attack, said the bandits planned to attack a construction company working along the highway but turned on the joint security forces of the police and the Army mobilised to the scene.
On September 13th, some bandits reportedly attacked the Bassa-Kukoki village, Allawa District of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State where many innocent villagers were killed.
On September 15th, it was the turn of Daffo community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State as it was attacked by militia where seven people were slaughtered including a pastor, his wife and two sons who were murdered inside their home.
On September 24th, gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked two Zamfara communities where eight people were reportedly killed and over 60 others abducted.
On the same date, another set of armed gunmen tried to attack a forward army base in Magami community of Zamfara, but were repelled by the soldiers though they succeeded in killing four residents.
A community leader, Shuaibu Haruna who spoke with journalists on the attack, said the bandits rode many motorcycles with guns and other weapons and were shooting sporadically.
On Friday, September 27, the Fulbe Development and Cultural Organisation (FUDECO) in Taraba State filed a petition over the series of killings and attacks in Karim-Lamido local government council of the state being carried out by Gomu militia, herders and bandits.
Chairperson of the group, Hajiya Aishatu Ardo who made the allegations during a press conference in Jalingo, said escalating violence between the Gomu militia and local herders communities in the council had become worrisome.
She noted that in less than two weeks, many people have been killed and kidnapped while hundreds of cattle, goats, and sheep have been stolen by the militias during the attacks.Show trimmed content
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