By Suleiman Umaru
For years, Bello Turji, a notorious Bandits’ Group, Kingpin believed to have had the backing of foreign sponsors have been crisscrossing the West African countries of Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger and the Central African country of Cameroon, to hold talks with other deadly terrorists on how on how to sustain the tempo of banditry operations the north western states of Kauna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Given that their local financiers are no longer finding it easy to remit funds to the group for their logistics support may have informed why the Turji led gang in the recent time has resumed what they know best in north western geopolitical region : kidnapping and cattle rustling. The death of Surajo Ahmed, Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Katsina state, in the hands of the Turji’s loyalists bear eloquent testimony to their renewed banditry activities in the north western geopolitical region. The gunmen, according Baba Ngelzarma , president, MACBAN, who had assassinated Ahmed had broken into house in Maerana village, Kusada Local Government Area of Katsina state on Saturday, Janury 11, 2025.
The notorious non- state actor and acclaimed Bandits’ Group Leader, who had pride himself as ‘’untouchable’’ appears to, have known that his days are numbered when Hamisu Sale, Abubakar Mohammed and Bako Wurji, linked to the killing of a Sokoto Monarch and described as his close confidants and Commanders were arrested at different locations in the north western and north central geo-political regions operations.
The elimination of these bandits gang Commanders and the killing on Thursday, January 9, 2025, of Ba?o-ba?0, another of his Commanders by Joint Security Forces in a clearance operation conducted on Batsari Forest in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina, former President Muhammadu Buhari, home state may have weakened the Turji leg gang operating capability .
Determined to put behind the activities of the Bandits Group , and the newly emerged Lakaruwa Group , in Kebbi state, which had extended their operations to Zamfara and Sokoto states, as well as those of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group ,BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, operating from the Lake Chad Basin to terrorize residents of Borno and Yobe states including the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, founded by Nnandi Kanu, currently in the custody of the Department of State Service, DSS, and Eastern Security Network may have informed why Olufemi Oluyede, an Army Lt. Gen. has appointed new GOCs, to enhance the army’s capacity to tackle banditry and terrorism in Nigeria.
The military intensified efforts to capture Turji, the notorious bandits’ group Leader who has made himself elusive over the years and now hiding in the rocks of Fakai and Manawa in Zamfara , where he was said to have been sighted recently with some of his followers may have encouraged troops of Operation Fansan Yamma, operating in the north western and northcentral geopolitical regions to go after him in his hideout the rocks of Fakai and Manawa in the north western the state. Given his threat to resume kidnapping activities in the north western state and others of the region, may have given his followers the audacity to kidnap 46 people including women and children and a Community Leader , in Gana Community , with little or no resistance on Sunday, January, 6, 2025, and taken to custody in around Fakai axis and Manawa rock .

The notorious bandits group Leader, Turji, and his followers who were acting out the script of their foreign sponsors were said to have continued to unleash barrage of gunfire to the Zamfara state, Communities and setting fire to several homes and businesses a resident of Gusau, the state Capital had said.
Grba Haure, who incidentally is one of the Gana Community Leaders had reportedly said that but not for the intervention of Operation Fansan Yamma, personnel, which had prevented the hoodlums from setting the entire town ablaze they would have succeeded in doing so.
Indeed, not many are surprised that Turji the notorious bandits group leader and his followers have intensified their kidnapping operations and cattle rustling, in the north western region in keeping with his threat to do so if his cousin, Wurji, arrested by the soldiers was not released.
The military High Command may have shown that Turji and other bandits’ group gang Leaders could no longer be tolerated in Nigerian as the Commander of sector 2, of Operation Fansan Yamma, was said to have mobilized his Troops to invade their camp in the Fakai area of Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara state on Friday, January 10, 2025, killing 25 of the terrorists and while 18 others sustained bullet wounds. The good news was that the Troops of the Joint TaskForce had taken advantage of invading their camp, around Fakai rock axis to rescue seven kidnapped victims, chained hands and legs to forestall their escape.
The success that was said to have been achieved by the Special Task Force in dismantling the deadly Turji and ILA, bandits’ group gang leaders in their forest hideout in Fakai axis may have emboldened Abubakar Abdullahi, an Army L.Col. and Coordinator, Joint Media Coordination Center, to declare on Sunday, January 12, 2025, that Nigerian Troops remain committed to restoring sanity and security in Communities in Zamfara state and other parts of the north western region.
He was said to have given his words that the Joint Task Force, operating in the north western and north central regions is determined ‘’to eradicate the bandits threats’’, warning Turji and his associates’’ to surrender and renounce violence unconditionally’’ or be eliminated.
Nigerians are watching to see how the Operation Fansan Yamma Troops who are acting out the scrip of General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defense Staff, CDS, will capture the Killer Turji , believed to be holed up.
Prior to the military invasion of Turji and Illa, camps around Fakai in Shikanfi LG, the relentless sector 2, joint Task Force, , Operation, Fansan Hamma, had on January 4, 2025, taken the battle to five bandits kingpin camps in the Kadoji, Matso, Bgga, Dogon market and Takatsaba areas of Katsina state, where the hoodlums were said to have escalated banditry in Jibia , and Batagarawa in including Batsari., which was said to have resulted in the death of 80 bandits and several others fleeing into the forest with bullet wounds. The bad news for Turji and the other bandits group kingpins whose camps and operational facilities have been destroyed marks a significant blow to their operational capacity in the north western state.
Until Operation Fansan Yamma Troops took the battle to Turji and Illa camps in Fakai rock axis in Shinkafi LGA, a notorious bandits’ group gang Leader loyal to Turji, Dantsito, was said to have placed a levy of N200 million on Communities in Tsafe LGA, of Zamfara, with a two -week deadline for them to pay up or stand the risk of being attacked.
Some of the affected Communities, were said to have also been levied much higher amount to pay. Take for instance, Dankolo Community was levied N14 m, Sungawa, NN15m, and Kunchi Kalgo, N20 m., while other Communities within the Tsafe LGA, were levied varied amount between N2.5 m and N10m.
Another 25 Communities in the state was said to have asked to N182.7 million by Danisuhu, led bandits’ gang loyal to Turji , with a warning that Communities that fail to pay the levies will exposed to attacks and more violence, The outrageous levies imposed on the Tsafe LGA, Communities, and the 25 other Communities from the state was said to have put the residents in perpetual fear, forcing residents of some of the affected Communities to flee for safety.
While Operation Hadin Kai, POpopular, OPHK, and Operation Fansan Yamma, and other Special Military Joint Task Force are working round the clock to restore calm in their various areas of jurisdictions in the north western, north eastern and south eastern geopolitical regions, suspected illegal miners armed with with AK47, from the Sahel region of Sudan, Niger and Chad, who had invaded the Yakurr LGA, of Cross rive state, in the south -south geopolitical region to start another round of banditry operation in the state may not have been lucky.
They were said to have played into the hands of security operatives who were said to be on the alert. That much was confirmed by Okoi Obono, an Army Maj. General, rtd, the state’s Security Adviser, who had said that they were found with diggers, shovels and earth drilling machines and. There are indications that first group of the illegal miners from Sudan, Chad and Niger, armed with their AK 47 rifles may arrived Akamkpa LGA, operating around the National Park axis.

The message is very clear that the bandits’ group which had turned the north western states of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi, into war zone are doing so ostensibly to protect their illegal mining businesses, which was exactly what they have planned to do in Cross river state if they had succeeded in finding their way into Yakurr forest with the support of their local and foreign collaborators.
Going by the unending war in the north western states of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and the north central states may have informed why the Nigerian Government had said that banditry in the north western geopolitical region and insurgency in the north eastern states of Borno and Yobe are sponsored by foreigners.
The CDS, who may be thinking along this line of argument had revealed that some of the over 120,000 insurgents who had surrendered in the north eastern states of Borno and Yobe, at different times, were found with the north American country of the United States, US, dollars, pound sterling and EURO.
The question on the lips of most people was: how did the insurgents come about the hard currencies if they do not have foreign sponsors, which had provided funds to support their training and procurement of arms and ammunition.
This may have encouraged Gen. Musa, who has the backing of President Tinubu, to call on Antonio Guterres, the United Nation’s Secretary General, of the United Nation, UN, to step into the case to trace the foreign funding for the terrorists Organizations operating in Nigeria, particular, the Bandits’ Group, Lakurawa, BokoHaram Group and ISWAP.
His worry was that if there was no stable source of foreign exchange flow into the purse of the terrorist groups, they would not have been able to sustain their operations over the last 15 years with all the Federal might to deal ruthlessly with them.
. He may have sounded it clear to those that cares to listen ‘’that he did not know whose interest ‘’it is to see Nigeria destabilized’’ stating that the military under his leadership is doing everything within its powers to ensure that the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, are secured.
Gen Musa, may have shocked Nigerians when he stated that when it seems that the Nigerian Troops are succeeding in chasing out the criminal elements from their strong holds in different parts of the country, somebody will throw something at them to slow down their operations to give the hoodlums room to regroup and launch attack to sustain the warfare.
The Army General, who had described what is happening in Nigeria as an’’ international conspiracy’’ by some UN, member countries which providing funds for the terrorists training and procurement of equipment for their activities had alluded to the deployment of drones for surveillance ahead of launching attacks on Nigerian security operatives in the north eastern geopolitical region.
It is not surprising why he had repeatedly queried ‘’the aim, and intention of these foreign sponsors of the terrorists Organizations in Nigeria’’, which political analysts had said to turn the country to another Check Slovakia or the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, which had been balkanized into different countries.

In a related development, Ade Fadahunsi, a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman, Senate Committee on Industry, Trade and Investment, had said that the counter-terrorism war had festered on because of the Land border closure policy, of the immediate past President Buhari’s Administration.
Describing it as ineffective in curbing cross-border crimes, such as banditry, terrorism and smuggling, the Oyo state born politician, and his committee members who had expressed frustrations over the ongoing security and economic challenges in the country had linked the porous nature of the country’s borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroun, had stated clearly that the Nigerian Government had fooled itself by closing the country’s borders with the neighbouring countries.
Senatorm Fadahunsi, was said to have urged President Tinubu to reopen the country’s borders rather than still maintain the illusion of a closure that had failed ‘’to prevent smuggling and insecurity’’ in different parts of the country.
He had said that the border closure policy of the previous Administration, ‘’rather than curb smuggling and prevent terrorist activities, it encourages it’’. According to hm, for now the Local rice farmers can only churn out three million tonnes of the seven million tonnes that the country required annually, leaving a significant shortfall of about four million tonnes filled by smuggled Asian countries of Thailand par boiled rice and Indian Agricultural par boiled rice.
He could speak out as a retired senior Customs officer who had held strategic positions in the service and rose to the enviable rank of an Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, ACG, Enforcement, Inspections and Investigations, E,I&I, which gave him an insight on the various Interventionist Units operations and their Contraband seizures, including foreign rice .