Bandit leader Bello Turji has issued a stark ultimatum to approximately 5,000 residents spanning over a dozen rural communities within Sokoto State, demanding their immediate displacement. This alarming development was corroborated by a local lawmaker, Habibu Halilu Modachi, alongside affected residents who communicated with AFP on Monday, painting a picture of widespread fear and forced migration.

According to Modachi's account, this mass exodus unfolded between Saturday and Sunday, as over 5,000 individuals were compelled to abandon their homes in Bafarawa and neighboring areas due to credible threats of imminent attacks orchestrated by Bello Turji's criminal enterprise. The lawmaker revealed that Turji's operatives infiltrated these communities, delivering a chilling directive for residents to vacate their premises by Sunday afternoon, under the penalty of death.

The motive behind this forced evacuation appears to be the bandits' suspicion that the local populace is collaborating with the Nigerian military by providing intelligence regarding their whereabouts and activities. By emptying these rural areas, Turji aims to eliminate any potential sources of information that could compromise his operations and expose his hideouts to security forces.

Tragically, even as residents were attempting to flee to safety in Isa town, Shinkafi in Zamfara state, and other relatively secure locations, the violence persisted. Modachi reported that on the very morning of his statement, bandits continued their reign of terror, resulting in the deaths of two individuals, injuries to nine others, and the abduction of seven more, underscoring the perilous situation faced by these communities.

Further harrowing details emerged from Abubakar Altine, a resident who recounted a brutal attack on his community on Saturday, where eight lives were lost and twenty people sustained injuries at the hands of the bandits who simultaneously issued the order to evacuate. Altine, now displaced in Isa town, lamented the dire conditions faced by the fleeing population, who are left without essential resources like food and shelter, their future uncertain in the wake of this devastating forced displacement.

Source: https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/metro/5000-residents-flee-sokoto-communities-on-bello-turjis-order/