A notorious North-west Nigerian banditry kingpin, Muhammad Bello, aka Turji, escaped an afternoon attack on guests attending a ceremony at his home in Fakai in Zurmi, Zamfara State, to the east of Isa local government area of Sokoto State.
Many people were injured in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrike on Saturday afternoon with unspecified others feared killed.
The 28-year-old is a ruthless bandit operating in Sokoto and Zamfara States. He had on different occasions rejected peace deals from the state governments.
The only time he said he was open to dialogue was when Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, visited his camp in Zurmi (Zamfara State).
Turji had relocated to Fakai in 2021 to escape soldiers’ fury.
Since 2011, an estimated 12,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced across the northwestern states of Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara due to the banditry crisis, according to an October 2021 report by Abuja-based think-tank Centre For Democracy and Development (CDD).
