PREMIUM TIMES
A notorious banditry leader, Bello Turji, has narrated how the crime started in Zamfara State.
Sitting under a tree with a sophisticated gun and a military hat, Mr Turji, in a five-minute video, responded to a background voice that asked him to trace the genesis of banditry in the north-western Nigerian state.
‘How we started armed banditry’
The terror kingpin said the Fulani community lived in peace and harmony with their Hausa neighbours until a former governor of the state adopted a partial Sharia Law allegedly to subjugate the Fulanis.
“I can recall how the former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmad Sani Bakura, implemented the Shariah Law,” Mr Turji, who entered into a failed truce with former governor Bello Matawalle, claimed.
“The law started and ended abruptly after a Fulani man (found guilty of stealing) got his hand amputated. In my opinion, I attributed the atrocities in Zamfara State to the stoppage of the law after it was partially used to amputate…”
Mr Turji said the Bakura-led government took sides with the Hausas in implementing the law.
Alleged atrocities by vigilantes and Yan Sakai
The terrorists further explained how local vigilantes and Yan Sakai militia exacerbated their (Fulanis) grievances.
“There was a man called DanKurman Galadima, with one Bala Maigora, who were the pioneer vigilante leaders that led the extra judicial killings of herders across Zamfara State with the government and the citizens watching them without making any decision.
“The killing of the Fulanis continued by those vigilante leaders for about two years without any action from the government until the late Buharin Daji and his group led a retaliatory attack at Kizara, Yar Galadima.
“At that point, instead of the government to mediate, it took sides and started killing the Fulanis in the bush, rustling their cattle, with the aim to exterminate them.”
As this hostility continued, Mr Turji said the Hausas formed a militia group, Yan Sakai.
