TERRORISM SPONSORSHIP: FORMER GOV BAFARAWA SLAMS BELLO TURJI
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HOTJIST NEWS
Former governor of Sokoto, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa has said no to the claim made by bandit leader Bello Turji that he is part of the groups causing terrorism and bandit activities in the northern part of the country. He said Turji is using him to damage his reputation.
The militant leader used Facebook to blame Bafarawa and another former governor of Zamfara for causing the growing insecurity in the north, but he didn’t say anything specific about how they were involved in the terrible violence and damage happening there.
Bafarawa, who was the governor of Sokoto State from 1999 to 2007, told Vanguard in a phone interview that he never supported any kind of violence or illegal activities against people or the state.
Alhaji Bafarawa, who was shocked by the militant leader’s claim, said in an interview with Vanguard that there was no banditry or terrorism in Sokoto or Zamfara State when he left office in 2007, and he didn’t know anyone named Bello Turji.
The former governor, who started the Democratic People’s Party and ran for president in 2007, said that Turji must be mistaken for saying his name is connected to terrorism in Nigeria and asked why he should be involved in such things almost 20 years after leaving the governor’s job.
Bafarawa said: “Where was Bello Turji when I was governor of Sokoto State and how old was he then? I had nothing to do with him and I still have nothing to do with him and his cohorts.
“What do I stand to benefit from banditry or terrorism at my age?
“It is shocking to me that a character like that is spewing pure lies against my name. He is just being used by some forces to lie from the pit of hell against me.
“I remain irrevocably committed to peace and stability of my state and Nigeria and can never venture into anything that can destabilize the society.
“It is absolute rubbish that Turji is talking about and I know that he is only trying to use my name to satisfy the interest of those goading him to make this unfounded claim against me,” the former presidential candidate said.
It will be remembered that Turji shared a video that became very popular online on Sunday, where he blamed previous leaders in Zamfara and Sokoto states for creating the long–term security problems in those areas. He directly pointed to the former governor of Sokoto and the former governor of Zamfara, saying they were responsible for the increase in insecurity and demanded that they be arrested and thoroughly investigated.
“We openly say that former governors of Zamfara and Sokoto states are responsible for the calamities that befell these states,” Turji claimed.
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