“Na so them dey see am, but them no fit catch am?”
“Ah, my brother. Them no wan catch am. There is a difference.”
By JOEL ARINZE
That was the gist I overheard last week at a beer parlour in Abuja. Two old men, nursing cups of cold beer, talking about Bello Turji. The same Bello Turji whose men ride into villages in Zamfara and Sokoto as conquerors. The same man who, as security reports confirm, continues to dictate life in the Northwest.
The military says there is “no hiding place” for him and that there is “intense pressure” and “confusion” in his ranks. Yet Turji remains free.
The truth is bitter. The reason Bello Turji is still breathing is not simply a failure of military capability. It is, by many accounts, a failure of political will — and possibly worse.
Bello Turji is a real bandit leader operating across Zamfara, Sokoto, and Katsina states. Over more than a decade, his group has attacked dozens of villages, emptied entire communities, and forced survivors to flee. He does not just steal cattle; he levies taxes on farmers who want to till their own ancestral lands. These are not claims, they are consistently reported by Nigerian media, security analysts, and government sources.
Here is where the story takes a darker turn. It is a matter of court records and sworn testimony that the late Zamfara State government, under Bello Matawalle (now the Minister of State for Defence), was accused of funding bandits. Let that distinction be clear: accused.
A former aide to that administration, Musa Muhammad Kamara, testified in open court and in sworn affidavits that the government bankrolled terror. Kamara alleged that he personally handled contracts to buy 28,000 bags of animal feed — dusa — delivered to Turji’s camp to fatten cattle stolen from peasants.
He further testified that the Zamfara State government bought a house for Bello Turji. A house. While citizens could not sleep in their mud huts for fear of being burnt alive, the state allegedly acted as a real estate agent for a bandit. He also claimed the government bought trucks from Libya for Turji’s lieutenants and provided wound care and medication when Turji was shot during a rampage in Tungar Kolo.
These are serious allegations. They have been reported by Premium Times and other outlets. However, no court has convicted Matawalle or his administration. Matawalle denies the claims. The allegations remain unproven in law.
Consider the audacity of the bandit himself. In a viral video, Turji named two former governors, Attahiru Bafarawa and Ahmed Yerima, as the “architects” of the crisis, accusing them of stealing grazing reserves. Whether he is telling the truth or lying, the fact that a common criminal feels empowered to name‑drop former top politicians tells you something about the perceived nexus between power and terror.
The residents of Sabon Birni have rejected peace talks. They have said, with the wisdom of the traumatized, that “there is no trust left in Turji.” Security analyst Mannir Fura‑Girke put it this way: “He is only using peace deals as a survival strategy, staying quiet until after the heat subsides.”
That analysis is widely shared by experts tracking the conflict.
So why is Turji still alive? The military points to difficult terrain, lack of informants, and cross‑border sanctuaries in Niger Republic. Others argue political will is missing. And a growing number of Nigerians, including the two old men in that Abuja beer parlour, suspect something uglier: that some politicians have found it more useful to keep Turji alive than to kill him.
That last claim is not proven. But the allegations on court record are real. And until they are fully investigated, and until Turji is either captured or killed, the blood of the innocent will continue to water the forests of Shinkafi.
To the military high command: We know you have the capacity. We have seen you eliminate jihadist leaders in the Northeast. Turji is not a magician. He is a man on a motorcycle.
To the Governors of Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi: Stop hiding behind the “non‑kinetic approach” alone. That approach loses credibility when a bandit openly collects cattle tax in your domain.
To the federal government: The allegations against a sitting Minister of State for Defence deserve a transparent, independent investigation — not silence.
Bello Turji is still free. That is a fact. The reasons are a mix of military difficulty, possible political failure, and serious allegations that have not been put to rest. Until the government proves otherwise, the beer in the pub will remain bitter.
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