DHQ DENIES BANDIT LEADER, BELLO TURJI SURRENDER, SAYS MANHUNT STILL ONGOING
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By: Sefiu Ajape
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has debunked reports claiming that notorious bandit leader Bello Turji has surrendered, maintaining that he remains at large and is still being actively pursued by military forces.
Turji, a feared warlord known for orchestrating attacks across communities in Zamfara and Sokoto states, was recently rumored to have laid down arms and released 32 kidnap victims under a peace arrangement reportedly mediated by Islamic clerics in Zamfara.
However, during a press briefing on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, dismissed the claims, describing them as unverified and lacking in credibility.
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“Well, you asked if it is true that bandit leader Bello Turji has surrendered, and that an Islamic cleric took ownership of the negotiation that led to his surrender. If I get you right. Simple answer, Bello Turji has not surrendered, we are hot on his trail,” Kangye said.
He also responded to Amnesty International’s recent allegations that military personnel involved in operations in the Southeast have engaged in extrajudicial killings. Kangye refuted the claims, calling them baseless.
“What do you mean by extrajudicial killing? Is it that soldiers carry their weapons, go to the street and start shooting people? You know what Amnesty International is doing. You know what they used to publish.
“Like I always tell you, everybody with a phone in his hand is a potential source of information to the whole world.
“But I can tell you that the military is not engaged in any extrajudicial killing in the southeast.”
Addressing the recent demonstrations by some retired military personnel, Kangye explained that only a small group participated, and their grievances were already being addressed by relevant authorities, including the Military Pensions Board, the Chief of Accounts and Budget, and the Minister of Finance.
“This issue was addressed by the military pensions board last week. I remember when the chief of account and budget in the defence headquarters went for the meeting with him and those aggrieved retired personnel.
“You see, one issue to understand is that when two or three jumped up and used the mouths of others to propagate or send out messages, it can be said that the retired personnel of the armed forces did this.
“So the few that came out, the chairman of the military pensions board and the chief of account and budget of the defence headquarters and also the minister of finance also, there were members that went to talk and speak with them and I think they were sure that that issue had been addressed.”
Also speaking, the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, said the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) held a meeting on Tuesday with a five-man standing committee formed by the Ministry of Defence to look into the welfare of military veterans.
“I want to inform you that just yesterday the CDS had a meeting with a five-man standing committee which was constituted by the ministry of defence to address this issue. It has been headed by a retired Air Commodore.
“They were here yesterday afternoon. They had a meeting with CDS and modernities have been worked out on how to address the welfare needs of our veterans.”
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