Governor Aminu Tambuwal has vowed that the end is near for notorious banditry kingpin, Bello Turji, who has continued to terrorise Sokoto State despite being hunted by security forces.

The governor spoke on Saturday at a meeting with community leaders, hours after a large group of bandits killed a local businessman and abducted five people in Kurawa in Sabon Birnin Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Tambuwal met with the community leaders of the eastern part of the state on what the government was doing to end the incessant attacks in the area.

According to two witnesses who spoke to newsmen Saturday morning on the latest attack, bandits raided Kurawa between Friday night and early Saturday morning.

During the raid, the bandits killed a popular local trader, Bashar Yellow, who had resisted being kidnapped.

“He was asked by the abductors to follow them but he refused. I am sure they had him in mind when they stormed the village because so far he was the only person known to have been killed,” Basharu Guyawa, the coordinator of a civil society group, Rundunar Adalci, in Sokoto said.

“They took away five other people including two married women. I was contacted early this morning by the husband of one of the women that they took. The other people taken are men,” he added.

Sambo Bala, an indigene of Sabon Birni, told newsmen that he saw the bandits passing through some communities to the local government headquarters.

“I saw them walahi with my eyes in the morning. Many people also saw them, so nobody should be telling us that bandits have been chased out of this zone. The level of impunity is worrisome,”

The police spokesperson in the state, Sanusi Abubakar, did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him. The Commissioner for Security Matters in the state, Garba Moyi, who is from the area, had his known telephone line switched off when this paper tried to contact him.

Tambuwal meets zonal elders, vows Turji’s end is near

Mr Tambuwal met with leaders of the Sokoto East Senatorial zone on insecurity in the area.

The governor vowed to bring an end to Mr Turji’s reign of terror in the state.

Most of the areas being attacked by bandits in the state are in the zone with Isa, Sabon Birni, Gwaranyo, Raba, Wurno, being the worst hit.

At the meeting in Gwadabawa, Mr Tambuwal also inaugurated the Sokoto Eastern Zone Development Association.

He said the state government was re-strategising to introduce new measures in tackling banditry while the review of existing measures is still on course.

The state government had in September announced some measures to tackle banditry.

According to Mr Tambuwal, “This is not a political or religious gathering. It is meant to tell ourselves the truth and nothing but the truth. We cannot fold our hands to wait for govt to solve our problems. We must unite and help ourselves before the government can come in,” he said.

“The government has donated vehicles and motorcycles to security agencies but are we seeing them.

“This will be part of the mandate of this committee to ensure government property are protected and used judiciously,” he added.

TodayNG