I Became A Bandit To Protect Lives Of My People – Bello Turji

Notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji has disclosed that he joined banditry to protect the lives of his people that are being killed by a group called Yan Sakai.

In an interview with Trust TV, Turji said he became a bandit following the constant attacks on his village, Fakai village in Shinkafi Local Government in Zamfara State.

He claimed that Yan Sakai members during an attack on his village rustled over 1,000 cattle, injured many villagers and killed six children, stressing that the activities of the group made him and some other Fulani youths become bandits.

The bandit kingpin also accused Yan Sakai members of connivance with security agents to harass and extort the Fulani in the state.

He said: “Over 1,000 cattle were taken away from us. On that day, six of our little siblings were killed.

“Our parents went through all the courts, but they couldn’t get back their cattle. They also connived with Yan Sakai and slaughtered my uncle. Where then does a commoner seek redress?

“They arrest innocent people and lock them up, and if you ask, they say it is because of corn stalks. You will be fined N500,000, and you must pay, for fear of incarceration.

“I will swear with the Qur’an that the Emir of Shinkafi knows about this. My father was involved in a court case for seven years over corn stalks. Just for corn stalks!”

The notorious bandit said people who knew him would not believe that he became a criminal, adding that his first experience of killing a human being was on a market day at Shinkafi.

He said: “I hadn’t taken up arms by then. I was herding cattle. Then, if my father wanted to sell any of his cows, I would take it to the market for him. After I sold it I would come to the emir’s compound before returning home in the evening.

“The Emir of Shinkafi knows me. He knew me from many years ago. If he is told that Turji would become a bandit he would not believe it because he knew we Fulani could not become rustlers. But it was what they were doing to us that became unbearable.”