Sokoto: Residents flee villages in droves, as Bello Turji issues new threat

Sokoto map

Residents of communities in the eastern part of Sokoto State, especially Tidibale, a small agrarian community in Isa Local Government Area, have started fleeing in large numbers, following fresh threats and warnings issued by bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji. Turji’s threats came at a time when at least five persons, including a former councillor and 2019 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa state constituency, Mr Igbabe Ochi, were reportedly killed in a midnight attack on Otobi Akpa community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State. However, as part of efforts to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country, the United States government has delivered critical military supplies to Nigeria.

On Bello Turji, residents said the threat, delivered after months of relative silence from the bandits’ kingpin, has triggered fresh panic, forcing families to abandon their homes and farmlands.

Vanguard gathered that many families have fled to Isa, Gidan Hamisu towns and neighbouring Shinkafi in Zamfara State, seeking safety from what they fear could be renewed violence.

Locals’ accounts suggest that Turji is attempting to reassert relevance and recognition after a lull in his activities, warning of “dire consequences” for Tidibale and nearby settlements that have not aligned with him.

The warning has deepened an already fragile security situation in Sokoto East, where rural communities remain vulnerable.

Women, children and the elderly are among those displaced. Farmers who should be preparing for the next planting season now sleep in overcrowded homes of relatives or in makeshift shelters, uncertain when or if they will ever return.

“We left everything behind; life is more important than crops,” a displaced resident told Vanguard.
A viral video showed scores of vehicles moving people and properties out of the troubled villages.