MINISTER of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle has cited his ‘political opponents’ as being behind a recent viral video where a wanted bandit, Bello Turji, pointedly accused him of being the mastermind of terrorist activities in the North, particularly in Zamfara State.
Bello Turji Kachalla, commonly known as Turji, is a prominent Nigerian terrorist and bandit leader active in northern states, including Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger.
Mr Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, in a statement issued on Sunday, blamed some elements within the Zamfara State government for skewing the narrative of insecurity challenges in the state against him.
The minister specifically accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration in the state of the plot to tarnish his name, claiming that his hands were clean.
“Bello Turji’s audio was unprofessionally synchronised with his video to accuse the former governor of injustice in the conduct of the reconciliation by the then Zamfara State government.
“However, the video/audio editor unprofessionally disqualified his work so much that one can vividly notice the failure of the audio and video clips to simultaneously synchronise,” he said.
He blamed the development on the plans of those he described as enemies of Zamfara and Nigeria’s progress, claiming that the same people opposed his ministerial nomination by President Bola Tinubu.
He further stated that he got the required security clearance from relevant security agencies before the confirmation of his ministerial appointment.
According to him, he led Zamfara State as Governor with all sense of humility, honesty, and justice, reiterating that the audio-visual in question was unprofessionally concocted and poorly produced to tarnish his image, hence it should be disregarded by the public.
Eighteen-Eleven Media had on Saturday reported Bello Turji accusing Mr Bello Matawalle of complicity in supporting terrorism in Nigeria.
The 28-year-old gang leader is alleged to have orchestrated a brutal bandit attack from 4 to 6 January 2022, resulting in the massacre of over 200 victims, including women and children, in Zamfara State.
Quoting a video obtained from.JTR kingpin, SaharaReporters reports that Turji claimed that the pervasive insecurity in the country was backed by the former governor of Zamfara State, who is now the Minister of State for Defence.
He asserted that he possesses evidence to substantiate this claim, emphasizing that Matawalle’s past government was widely recognized throughout the region.
Speaking in Hausa, he said, “My name is Muhammed Bello Turji, and I am releasing this video to reach all Nigerians, from the leaders to the poor. This is the message I want to convey to everyone.
“The issue of insecurity plaguing our country has the full backing of the immediate past government of Zamfara State. I have evidence to support this claim. The past government, under His Excellency Bello Mattawallen Maradun (State Minister of Defence), is well-known to everyone in the region.
“This government has been complicit in backing terrorism. There are individuals from Shinkafi, Zurmi, and Issah who cannot deny this video.
“Many Nigerians, for example those in Bauchi or Kaduna, may not be aware of the problems in Zamfara. However, I want to assure the federal government that if they are unaware, I will provide names, details, and evidence. I urge them to investigate the past actions of these individuals and their discussions with them. As a citizen of this zone, (North West) I swear before God that I speak the truth.
“The past government of Zamfara, under Mattawalle, facilitated negotiations but also sabotaged efforts. There were multiple negotiations, but the dialogue did not succeed because everyone in Shinkafi and Isah knew the truth. The late Dillu, for example, was chased away by me because he refused to allow peace to reign in Shinkafi. They possessed more than 200 rifles, and Mattawalle invited them to the Government House. If I am lying, there are still people in the Government House that can explain this.
“When we killed Dillu, Kabiru Maniya should explain where the federal or the Zamfara and Sokoto state governments had a dialogue with him to drop his arms. Bashari Maniya should also tell us where he hid his weapons. Everyone knows that they have over 300 rifles, of which I took 30 from them. Let them come out and tell the truth about what is going on.
“As we speak, they are in Sokoto city. People like Malam Murtala Asada (Islamic Scholar) have been saying that there are other Turjis (Bandits) walking freely in the city of Sokoto, Referring to Maniya and his cohort who supposedly have over 300 rifles hidden somewhere.
“There are bandit leaders with their boys hiding in various enclaves with weapons ranging from 150 to 300 rifles, but they now claim to be working with government forces as repentant. And whenever bandits want to attack any location, they will advise the security to vacate areas in Sokoto to allow the attacks to take place. If I am lying, the people of Mai Lalle should come out and deny that they are not constantly being attacked.
“The bandits attacking them are from the enclave of Shehu in Gonbro forest, in Sokoto. Dan Maigari, the brother of Bashari, has 150 rifles and has coordinated several attacks in Maradun. Ali, a boy to Kabiru Mani, is attacking Tangaza, and these are people living lavishly and freely in Sokoto State capital. Kabiru, Buhari, and others are living lavish lives in Sokoto.
“Within the last three weeks, Buhari’s brother was said to have captured a weapon inside Sokoto. If I am lying, they should come out and debunked it. But I can provide proof of Buhari shooting a GPMG. They should explain to us who gave those boys the arms they are using. The government should explain this to Nigerians and stop accusing Bello Turji of killing and kidnapping people. Those being kidnapped around Sokoto, Achida, and Goronyo—who is kidnapping them? Turji, who is currently living peacefully in Shinkafi, is not responsible.
“Let the government come out and take responsibility for some of the atrocities being committed and stop falsely accusing others.”
Eighteen-Eleven Media