Residents of communities in the eastern part of Sokoto State, especially Tidibale, a small agrarian community in Isa Local Government Area, have reportedly started fleeing in large numbers, following fresh threats and warnings issued by bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji.
Turji’s threats came at a time when at least five persons, including a former councillor and 2019 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa state constituency, Mr Igbabe Ochi, were reportedly killed in a midnight attack on Otobi Akpa community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.
On Bello Turji, residents said the threat, delivered after months of relative silence from the bandits’ kingpin, has triggered fresh panic, forcing families to abandon their homes and farmlands.
Vanguard reported that many families have fled to Isa, Gidan Hamisu towns and neighbouring Shinkafi in Zamfara State, seeking safety from what they fear could be renewed violence.
Locals’ accounts suggest that Turji is attempting to reassert relevance and recognition after a lull in his activities, warning of “dire consequences” for Tidibale and nearby settlements that have not aligned with him.
The warning has deepened an already fragile security situation in Sokoto East, where rural communities remain vulnerable.
Women, children and the elderly are among those displaced. Farmers who should be preparing for the next planting season now sleep in overcrowded homes of relatives or in makeshift shelters, uncertain when or if they will ever return.
“We left everything behind; life is more important than crops,” a displaced resident told Vanguard.
A viral video showed scores of vehicles moving people and properties out of the troubled villages.
In contrast, several communities in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, including Shinkafi town, Katuru, Jangeru and Kanwa, are reported to have entered into a truce with Turji.
Under the arrangement, the villages reportedly pledged not to confront or report his activities, a decision residents described as a survival strategy, rather than consent.
Altine Guyawa, a public commentator on banditry and kidnapping in Sokoto East, said the development has reshaped the geography of fear in the region.
According to him, Turji has now concentrated his activities in Isa, Sabon Birni, Goronyo, Wurno and Rabah Local Government Areas, being communities that have not entered any truce with him.
Guyawa noted that such threats often followed periods of silence, serving as a signal to remind communities and authorities of a bandit leader’s presence.
“It is about relevance and control,” he said, warning that populations often paid the highest price, which is death.
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