DHQ debunks alleged surrender of terrorist Bello Turji

**Dismisses Amnesty International’s allegation of extra-judicial killings in South-East

By Kingsley Omonobi

The Military High Command has debunked trending reports in the media that terrorist kingpin, Bello Turji, who had been terrorising Zamfara, Kebbi and parts of Katsina states in the North West has surrendered.

Major General Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, said: “Bandit leader, Bello Turji, has not surrendered. We are still on his trail. So he is still wanted by the military.”

Recall that a prominent Islamic cleric known as Asadus-Sunnah disclosed on Monday during a religious gathering in Kaduna that Bello Turji released 32 kidnapped individuals and pledged to halt attacks on local farmers following multiple meetings with Islamic clerics in his hideout in Zamfara State.

He claimed an agreement also saw Turji surrender some of his weapons, marking a step toward peace in the troubled Shinkafi Local Government Area.

He further said that the negotiations, held in July in the Fakai forest, involved Turji and other key figures like Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa, and Malam Ila, who agreed to peace terms to allow farmers safe access to their lands.

Unverified sources quoted him saying, “We met Mr Turji, Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa, and Malam Ila. The speculation that Dan Bakkolo was killed is not true. These people are the ones terrorising the axis, and they all agreed to the peace proposals, one of which is for them to surrender some of their arms to show commitment to the peace process.

“They surrendered the arms in three phases at different times, and allowed the residents of Shinkafi to access their farms in the forest across the river heading to Mr Turji enclaves. We agreed that the Fulanis must be allowed to go to town without being stereotyped or killed by the Vigilante.

“He (Mr Turji) also released 32 kidnapped captives as part of the peace agreement.

Mr Yusuf said and showed the video of some of the released captives and the difficult terrain they crossed to reach Mr Turji’s camp.”

But dismissing these claims, Major General Kangye said, “Bello Turji is still wanted by the Nigerian military.”

Responding to a question on Amnesty International’s report alleging extra-judicial killings by the military in the South East, Kangye said, “It is not true. The military is not doing any extra-judicial killings in the South East. The armed forces cannot deploy troops to protect the people and the troops turn the same weapons to kill the people.

“Amnesty International is fond of this. So the military is not involved in any extrajudicial killings in the South East.”

Also speaking at the briefing, Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, stated that following the recent protest by military retirees over non-payment of some benefits, the Chief of Defence Staff, General CG Musa, has held a meeting with a fve-man standing committee on veterans welfare on modalities to address the welfare needs of retired military pensioners.

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