July 23, (THEWILL) – A group under the aegis of the Grand Alliance of Coalition of Northern Youths Movement (GANOM) has accused politicians of using banditry activities within the Northwest states to destroy President Tinubu’s legacy of fighting against insecurity.
The group also condemned a viral video on social media where a notorious bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji was making an allegation against some notable political leaders in the North-West, including the former Governor of Zamfara State and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the current Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu.
Addressing Journalists in Sokoto on Monday, Chairman of the Coalition, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, said, “Ordinarily, it is not in our character to respond to such baseless and poorly-scripted nothing-good movie being acted by elements like Bello Turji and his co-crime merchants within and outside Zamfara State but to set the record straight on the person of criminal Turji and the political rationale behind the viral video.
“It is on record that Bello Turji is fond of making baseless accusations against perceived political enemies of his sponsors who are teleguiding him to poison the minds of northerners against the possible re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu come 2027.
“And let us clearly state here that the majority of those calling on President Tinubu to replace Matawalle over the comedy video clip shared allegedly by agents of some politicians are dangerous, worse, and unpatriotic Nigerians who are ready to go to any length to sow a seed of discord among Nigerians against a southern president just like they did to Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
“So, those targeting Minister Bello Matawalle are more interested in destroying Tinubu’s legacy in the fight against insecurity in the North-West so they can use it against him and his political party, which should not be allowed.”
The group further asked, “How can a bandit like Bello Turji be given prominence to be talking about insecurity when he is making life difficult for his people?
“The truth is that the ongoing military operations in the North-West are breaking Turji’s enclaves and his promoters are unhappy, which is why the military needs to intensify their onslaught against these criminal elements in their enclaves in Shinkafi, Sabon Birni, Isa, Zurmi, Jibia and many other areas surrounding Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger States.
“Again, his allegations have not been only against Matawalle. He has accused a former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani Yerima that he was sponsoring bandits. He also accused the late Emir of Zurmi, Atiku Abubakar of the same allegations.
“Can we now say the security agencies, especially the Department of State Security Service, have not done their work, which could have led to the disqualification of Matawalle while he was being screened by the National Assembly better than Turji and his hidden sponsors?
“For those who watched the clip, Turji is just playing a script, using politics to destroy the good names of many innocent people after his terror reigns in Shinkafi and its environs.
“Those who want to destroy Tinubu’s led federal government are the ones using him because there was never a time the Federal Government was committed to securing Nigeria and deploying the military to trouble zones like what we have now.
“You can imagine a heartless bandit like Bello Turji, who set the vehicle on fire with several persons, including a pregnant woman, talking about sympathy. Those he killed their loved ones, those he destroyed their livelihood are still alive today to judge him.
“It’s pertinent for the Security agencies to invite the social media user who is very close and ally to the Zamfara State Government that has recorded and shared the interview with Bello Turji for clarification of sponsorship.”
The group asked security agencies to fish out those who recorded and circulated the video clip, as they seemed to be aware and have information about the whereabouts of the dreaded bandit.
It also called on President Tinubu not to take the development lightly and urged him to put on his political thinking cap to address some of the issues like economic hardship in the country.
Tunde Omolehin is an award-winning Journalist with prose in investigative and storytelling that is connecting the dots between the under-reported communities and policymakers to ensure good governance and accountability.
