Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has expressed confidence in the Nigerian Armed Forces’ ability to neutralize the notorious bandit leader Bello Turji, stating that Turji’s “days are numbered.”
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Lawal praised the military’s renewed commitment to tackling banditry in the state.
“I believe Bello Turji is a matter of time, his days are numbered because I can see the commitment from the Armed Forces in terms of taking Bello Turji out,” Lawal said. “In fact, that same axis where the incident took place is actually the axis of Bello Turji. I am confident, I am optimistic, and I believe the Nigerian Armed Forces this time around are ready to take him out.”
The governor also addressed the recent military airstrike in Zamfara State that tragically claimed the lives of over 16 residents in Tungar Kara, Maradun Local Government Area.
Lawal clarified that the incident was not intentional and detailed the circumstances leading to the unfortunate casualties.
“We have been battling issues within the last three days as a result of the airstrike. Let me say this, I have full information on what happened that fateful day, because we made a distress call to the air force in terms of some bandits attacking communities, and they quickly responded, and they were able to neutralize a lot of bandits,” he explained.
However, he revealed that unintended casualties occurred during a subsequent operation.
“On the second time when we made the same reports, unfortunately, at that time, there were some what we call the CPGs and some of those communities that came to rescue those under attack, and in the process, they were hit by the air force. I believe it was not intentional. It was one of those things in this kind of situation; sometimes there may be collateral damage, and that was what happened.”
The governor extended his condolences to the families of the victims and described the measures taken to address the aftermath of the incident.
“I set up a powerful delegation led by my deputy governor for an on-the-spot assessment and to commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives. In the process, what happened was fully explained, and they quite understood it was not intentional,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force has deployed a fact-finding team to investigate the incident.
