Notorious armed leader Bello Turji has released 32 kidnapped victims and surrendered a cache of weapons as part of a locally brokered peace initiative led by Islamic clerics in Zamfara State.
The development was disclosed by Musa Yusuf, a prominent Islamic scholar popularly known as Asadus-Sunnah, during a religious gathering in Kaduna on Monday. He revealed that peace negotiations with Turji and other armed militia leaders took place in July within the Fakai forest in Shinkafi Local Government Area.
“We met with Bello Turji, Dan Bakkolo, Black, Kanawa, and Malam Ila. Contrary to rumours, Dan Bakkolo is alive. These individuals are responsible for much of the unrest in the area, and they have now agreed to several peace terms, including the symbolic surrender of arms,” Yusuf stated.
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He noted that the arms handover occurred in three separate phases. As part of the truce, residents of Shinkafi have regained access to their farmlands, which had been under the control of Turji’s fighters for months. Yusuf emphasized that part of the agreement includes ensuring Fulani residents are not unjustly profiled or harmed by vigilante groups.
Among those freed were 32 captives, predominantly women and children, some of whom had been held for over four months. Disturbingly, some of the women gave birth in captivity, while one victim reportedly suffered a snakebite. A video clip shown by Yusuf depicted the released victims navigating rough terrain to reach safety.
While Turji has not yet been asked to surrender all his arms due to concerns about threats from rival groups opposed to the peace deal, clerics say discussions toward a broader truce are ongoing.
“We are still engaging him on the path to total peace,” Yusuf said. “Criticism on social media against Turji at this sensitive moment is counterproductive. These efforts are yielding tangible results.”
Although the deal may not end violence across Zamfara entirely, Yusuf confirmed that relative calm has returned to territories under Turji’s control, allowing farming and other community activities to resume.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, and Senator Shehu Buba for supporting a non-violent, dialogue-based solution to insecurity in the region.
In a previous video from October 2024, Turji had accused government forces and vigilantes of targeting Fulani communities, warning that lasting peace in Zamfara would remain elusive unless such attacks stopped. He also dismissed the political rivalry between Governor Lawal and former governor Bello Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence, as self-serving and not in the public interest.
