Bello Turji, a notorious bandit, has reiterated his accusation that Nigeria’s current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, supports terrorism in Zamfara and Sokoto States. Turji made these claims in a recent video shared by security expert Zagazola Makama on X.
In the video, Turji accused Matawalle, who was the governor of Zamfara State before becoming a minister, of having ties to bandits. Turji has been active in northern Nigerian states, including Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger.
“What I said in the video is that Dan Maigari and Baleri are siblings,” Turji alleged, referring to individuals he claims are involved in armed banditry in Zamfara and Sokoto states. He challenged Matawalle’s supporters to investigate his claims rather than dismiss them as propaganda.
Turji questioned, “Since you said Bashari is not a bandit and said Matawalle has no hand in the banditry activities, I am asking you from whom did they rescue the girls?” He accused Bashari, an alleged bandit, of continuing operations between Zamfara and Sokoto without evidence of surrendering to authorities. Turji insisted his allegations are accurate and based on truth, saying, “Every sensible person is aware of the situation and knows what I’m talking about.”
In July, Turji had previously accused Matawalle of complicity in terrorism. “My name is Muhammed Bello Turji, and I am releasing this video to reach all Nigerians, from the leaders to the poor. This is the message I want to convey to everyone,” he stated. Turji claimed that the insecurity in the country had the full backing of Matawalle’s past government. “I have evidence to support this claim. The past government, under His Excellency Bello Matawalle, is well-known to everyone in the region for backing terrorism,” he added.
Turji promised to provide names, details, and evidence to the federal government if they were unaware of the issue. “As a citizen of this zone (North West), I swear before God that I speak the truth,” he asserted.
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In response, Matawalle’s camp swiftly denied the allegations. Deyemi Saka, Lead Partner at Lambert and Curtis, issued a statement describing the accusations as “baseless, malicious, unfounded, mischievous, and deliberately concocted lies.” Saka noted that the video speaks to its own discredibility and emphasized the minister’s efforts against banditry while he was governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.
“His demonstration of strength of character by insisting he was not going to negotiate with Bandits after the closure of the amnesty window for them to lay down their arms, and strong insistence of Bello Turji doing such is enough motivation for the hatchet man job he is doing,” Saka stated.
The statement added that anyone with basic knowledge of the psychoanalysis of a terrorist like Turji would recognize his “victim mentality.”
As these allegations continue to unfold, an Islamic cleric has called for a thorough investigation into Matawalle’s past actions to determine the truth. The cleric emphasized the importance of addressing such serious accusations to ensure justice and maintain public trust.