Notorious terrorist leader, Bello Turji, has surrendered some of his weapons and released 32 kidnapped victims as part of a peace process led by Islamic clerics in Zamfara State.
The development was revealed on Monday by Sheikh Musa Yusuf, also known as Asadus-Sunnah, during a religious gathering in Kaduna. Yusuf, one of the clerics involved in the initiative, said the peace efforts were prompted by community members from Shinkafi Local Government Area, who begged for dialogue so that farmers could return to their land safely.
The meetings, held in July deep inside the Fakai forest of Shinkafi, involved Turji and other known armed group leaders including Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa, and Malam Ila.
“We met with Turji and his men and agreed that farming must resume and Fulanis should not be attacked or harassed by vigilantes. The bandits, in return, started surrendering weapons in phases and freed 32 captives,” Yusuf said.
He also confirmed that reports of Dan Bakkolo being killed were false and that all the major figures involved in the region’s violence agreed to the peace terms.
A video clip shared by Yusuf showed the rough terrain the freed victims crossed to reach Turji’s camp before their release.
While praising the progress made, Yusuf stressed that the clerics avoided demanding a total surrender of weapons to prevent Turji from being attacked by rival armed groups that are not part of the peace process.
Talks with Turji and his men are still ongoing, with the hope of achieving a complete stop to violence in the area, which has seen years of bandit attacks, killings, and kidnappings.
