Bello Turji, a notorious terrorist and bandit leader, has issued new threats of deadly attacks on residents of Shinkafi Local Government Area in Zamfara State and other neighbouring communities.

In a video recorded on Wednesday, Turji said the communities should brace up for killings and kidnapping for ransom in 2025 if the Nigerian authorities fail to release some captured terrorists.

Turji is the most wanted terror chief in the northwest region, and he has remained elusive for the past nine years. In making a case for his banditry activities over the years, he often labels it a means of seeking justice for the Fulani people.

Some of the terror activities linked to him include the kidnap of Ibrahim Ma’aje, Zamfara State’s special assistant to the governor, in 2023 and a N50 million levy imposed on a village in the state as compensation for the killing of his cow.

READ MORE: For 9 Years, Military Has Failed to Catch Bello Turji Despite Killing His Associates

Bello Turji issued fresh Threat to communities in Shinkafi, warned to unleash deadly attacks if his uncles that were captured by the Nigerian troops were not released. https://t.co/5CSfX9H84X pic.twitter.com/zaKAmwcLuU— Zagazola (@ZagazOlaMakama) December 26, 2024

A video clip posted on the X page of security analyst Zagazola Makama on Thursday shows the terrorist leader wearing a military uniform of Niger Republic, armed and flanked by his men who were also in uniforms.

“I want to address the residents of Zamfara and Sokoto states about everything that has been happening and what we have witnessed. This is my warning to them: if they fail to heed it and the authorities do not release our detained people, I will take action,” he said in Hausa.

“I will kick off 2025 with the killing of residents of Shinkafi. Afterwards, we will demand ransom and they will not have peace of mind. We will disrupt the current calm and restore tension. To avoid these, they must release our people who have been detained.”

READ ALSO: FLASHBACK: In 2022, Matawalle’s Govt Said Bello Turji Had Repented

He made reference to a disclosure made on December 20 by Edward Buba, the director of the Defence Media Operations (DMO). On December 20, Buba issued a statement on the arrest of high-profile terrorists linked to Turji.

One of them died from gunshots while the remaining four were remanded in Kuje Prison on Monday. Turji claimed that the arrested persons were not his accomplices but “our brothers who were picked up at the markets and others in the hospital”.

“If you want to fight us, not our parents, you know where we are. Come, let us fight. Residents of Shinkafi, Isa, Zurmi, and its environs, if you don’t address those informants responsible for the killing of our brothers, you will face the consequences in 2025. Any town that refuses to follow our directives will be reduced to rubble,” Turji said.
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