Terrorism Allegation: ‘They Are Using Bello Turji to Smear Me’ — Ex-Sokoto Gov Bafarawa

Former Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, has rejected allegations by notorious bandit leader Bello Turji that he sponsored terrorism and banditry in northern Nigeria, describing the claims as false and politically motivated.

Turji had accused Bafarawa and a former governor of Zamfara State of being the “oxygen” sustaining insecurity in the region, making the allegation in a Facebook post and a viral video, without providing details of their alleged roles.

Responding in a telephone interview with Vanguard, Bafarawa, who governed Sokoto State from 1999 to 2007, said he had never supported violence or criminal activity and had no connection whatsoever with the bandit leader.

He expressed shock at being mentioned, insisting that banditry and terrorism were nonexistent in Sokoto and Zamfara states when he left office in 2007, adding that he did not know anyone called Bello Turji.

Bafarawa, founder of the Democratic People’s Party and its presidential candidate in the 2007 election, said it was absurd for anyone to accuse him of sponsoring terrorism nearly two decades after he left office.

“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,” he said.

He further questioned any motive for such actions, saying, “What do I stand to benefit from banditry or terrorism at my age?”

Describing the allegations as lies, Bafarawa said, “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.”

The former governor stressed his commitment to peace, noting, “I remain irrevocably committed to peace and stability of my state and Nigeria and can never venture into anything that can destabilise the society.”

He added that Turji’s claims were “absolute rubbish” and meant to serve the interests of those pushing him to make what he described as baseless accusations.

Turji, in the viral video that surfaced on Sunday, had accused past political leaders in Zamfara and Sokoto states of laying the foundation for the region’s prolonged insecurity, calling for the arrest and investigation of the former governors.

“We openly say that former governors of Zamfara and Sokoto states are responsible for the calamities that befell these states,” the bandit leader claimed.

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