ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Notorious bandit leader Bello Turji has dismissed allegations that he received cash payments or vehicles from the Zamfara State Government during past peace negotiations, insisting he has never possessed as much as N5 million in his lifetime.
Turji made the claim in a video that has since gone viral on social media, responding to accusations by Musa Kamarawa, a former peace mediator appointed by the Sokoto and Zamfara state governments to engage armed groups in the North-West.
Kamarawa had alleged that Turji was handed N30 million during several meetings with the former governor of Zamfara State, Bello Muhammad Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence, held at the Government House in Gusau.
He also claimed that vehicles were distributed to bandit leaders as part of the peace process.
However, Turji flatly denied the allegations, describing them as false and misleading.
“By Allah, since I was born, I have never possessed even N5m,” Turji said in the video.
“What I am doing is not for personal gain. We were never given the N30m you are talking about.”
The bandit leader accused Kamarawa of breaching the trust that underpinned the negotiations and giving what he described as “false and mischievous testimony.”
He said, “We agreed on peace when the Zamfara State government appointed you.
“But what you are saying now is full of lies and deceit. I did not even receive N3m.”
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Turji also sought to distance himself from political actors, insisting that his group was not acting on behalf of any politician or political interest.
“We are not politicians, and we are not tools of politicians,” he said.
“There is no human being backing us.”
He went further to accuse past political leaders of laying the foundation for insecurity in the region, naming former Sokoto State governor Attahiru Bafarawa and former Zamfara State governor, Senator Ahmed Yerima.
He called for their arrest and investigation, blaming them for what he described as long-standing failures that predated the Matawalle administration.
Although he did not address reports of fresh engagement with the Federal Government, Turji framed his comments as a personal rebuttal, saying he was speaking “before Allah alone.”
Meanwhile, residents and civil society actors in Sokoto State have raised concerns over the renewed public exchanges, warning that insecurity is increasingly being dragged into partisan politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A community leader in Sokoto metropolis, Alhaji Sani Aliyu, said the controversy had little to do with justice or public safety.
“This has little to do with justice or security. It is all about positioning for 2027,” he said. “Ordinary people are the ones suffering while politicians trade accusations.”
Similarly, civil society activist Malam Abdullahi Bello warned that politicising violence could worsen instability across the North-West.
“Using banditry and violence as political propaganda is dangerous,” he said. “Leaders should focus on lasting solutions instead of exploiting fear to win public support.”
Despite Turji’s denials, Nigerian security agencies continue to list him among the most dangerous armed group leaders operating in the North-West.
He remains wanted for terror-related activities as military offensives against bandit networks persist across the region.