Two experts who have studied the activities of bandits in northwestern Nigeria for many years say they believe that bandit kingpin Bello Turji wrote the now infamous letter.
Experts also said Turji may have written the letter, calling for a ceasefire, following the backlash he received from fellow outlaws after his group burned unarmed travelers alive in Sokoto.
The controversial letter
Turji addressed his three-page open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State and the Emir of Shinkafi.
The wanted crime lord hails from the Shinkafi local government area of Zamfara state and the letter was reportedly delivered to the emir of the area.
In the letter, written in the Hausa language with a greeting in Arabic, Turji promised to embrace peace if the federal and state governments, as well as the Shinkafi emirate, promise to accept it.
In the letter, he said he was willing to surrender all his weapons if all five conditions of the letter are met.
He listed conditions such as the dissolution of unofficial vigilante groups in the Northwest, a meeting with traditional rulers and religious leaders, an end to the “marginalization” of the Fulani; honest discussions between bandits, traditional rulers and politicians, and the participation of first class emirs in a security meeting.
“The unnecessary killing of people will be over,” he said. “Because members of the unofficial self-defense groups simply saw an innocent person and killed… We need to be seen as people with the same rights as anyone else. They are killing us unnecessarily. We are being relegated to the background. We should be able to go back to our homes and live a normal life. We also want to have a meeting with our traditional rulers and religious leaders to solve the problems. “
“… We are not fighting the government or trying to form our government. No! We are simply tired of the marginalization of the Fulani; especially in the markets. So if you need peace to reign, we must do it for the love of God. And for normality to return, we want a situation in which no one is deceived, “he said.
In the letter that he signed with his full name, Muhammadu Bello Turji Kachalla Fakai, Turji also said that an Islamic cleric, Ahmed Gumi, first-class emirs and notable Islamic scholars should be invited to a summit with the bandits.
“… Especially Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi; We know him because he came here and preached to us and we have witnessed the importance of peace due to his advice, hence the need for us to do our best to bring peace back to our land. “
Reasons behind the letter
Murtala Rufai, a social historian at Sokoto’s Usmanu Danfodiyo University, told PREMIUM TIMES that he believes Turji wrote the letter for two reasons.
Rufai, who wrote the book “I am a bandit”, said that Turji’s decision to burn travelers on a bus in the Sabon Birni area was not well received by the leaders of some bandits.
“You know the reaction it generated. They weren’t happy with him (Turji) because he just did what was out of the book for them. The bandit bosses called a meeting on December 13 and Turji was told point-blank that he was wrong. Even some of his main commanders did not support his actions, ”said the academic.
Mr. Rufai, an investigator on banditry, kidnapping and cattle theft in the Northwest, has access to many bandit leaders; especially in the states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi.
He said it wasn’t long before Turji accepted that he was wrong.
“That letter was kind of a soft landing for him. He wanted to appease his friends and commanders and also express his regret for what he did. The letter was released on December 14 and delivered, “he added.
According to the university professor, Turji also wrote the letter “possibly after receiving information about the impending attacks by the soldiers.”
Another source, Basharu Guyawa, coordinator of Rundunar Adalci, a human rights group in Sokoto, also confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
“You know that Turji is used to writing letters, especially during the ban on telecommunications service in the area. He wrote several letters to the village and district chiefs about the payment of the ransom. So we think this is his too, ”Mr. Guyawa said.
When asked if he believes that the letter was written out of fear of imminent attacks by soldiers, Mr. Guyawa replied in the affirmative.
“It could be true because the letter was delivered a day before the attacks on the camps of Turji and other bandits began. He might have some information about the impending attacks and he wanted to use it as a way to mislead the government. “
PRNigeria, a news agency with close ties to security agencies, later reported an attack on the Turji camp on Saturday.
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“Notorious bandit leader Bello Turji is ‘incapacitated’ after sustaining serious injuries when military fighter jets raided his hideouts and bandit camps in the northwest,” PRNigeria reported Sunday.
“The attack planes of the Air Task Force, ATF, Operation Hadin Kai, also killed several bandits, in the incursion carried out in some forests of the states of Zamfara and Sokoto, early Saturday morning.
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“According to the intelligence source, the real number of bandits who were eliminated by the air strikes could not be determined,” the agency reported.
Although Mr. Turji is believed to have survived the airstrikes, his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Sokoto State Police Spokesperson Sanusi Abubakar did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him regarding the fate of Mr. Turji after his letter and the air strikes.
Zamfara is no longer interested in dialogue
Efforts to speak with Zamfara State Information Commissioner Ibrahim Dosara were unsuccessful because their known phone lines were not connecting. The SMS sent to their lines were also not answered.
But Governor Bello Matawalle had said in September that the state government was no longer interested in dialogue with the bandits.
Matawalle initiated a peace accord with bandits in the state after he was sworn in as governor in 2019. Peace efforts failed as many bandits reverted to their terrorist acts after claiming that they had agreed to be peaceful.
“My administration will no longer grant amnesty to bandits because they have not accepted the peace initiative that was previously extended to them,” said the governor.