The Grand Alliance of Coalition of Northern Youths Movement (GANOM) has raised the alarm that the allegations made by notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, circulating on social media, were aimed at undermining President Bola Tinubu’s efforts in combating insecurity in the northwest region, in an attempt to hinder his reelection bid in 2027.
GANOM described the allegations as baseless and likened them to a poorly-scripted Nollywood movie orchestrated by Bello Turji and his associates within and outside Zamfara State.
Reacting to the development, the coalition’s chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, stated on Monday that Bello Turji frequently makes unfounded accusations against perceived political enemies of his sponsors, who manipulate him to sway northern opinion against President Bola Tinubu’s potential reelection in 2027.
“Our attention has been drawn to a viral video on social media where one of the notorious bandits’ kingpins known as Bello Turji was making an allegation against some notable political leaders in the North-West including the former Governor of Zamfara State and the current Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle and current Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu.
“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 Zamfara state government are dangerous and worse 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,” GANOM said.
Yusuf said those targeting Matawalle were more interested in destroying Tinubu’s legacy on the fight against insecurity in the North-West so they can use it against him and his political party which should not be allowed.
While explaining further with facts, Yusuf noted that the ongoing military operations in the North-West was wreaking havoc on Turji’s enclaves and making his promoters unhappy which was why the military needed to intensify the 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.
The chairman also observed that Turji’s allegations were not only against Matawalle, as he has accused a former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani Yerima and the late Emir of Zurmi, Atiku Abubakar for allegedly sponsoring bandits.
“Can we now say the security agencies especially the Department of State Security Service have not done their work which could have led to disqualification of Matawalle while he was being screened by the National Assembly better than Turji and his hidden sponsors?” Yusuf asked
However, the Coalition said: “It is pertinent to know that Turji is just playing a script, using politics to destroy good names of many innocent people after his terror reigns in Shinkafi and environs and those that want to destroy Tinubu’s led federal government are the ones using him because there was never a time the federal government is committed to securing Nigeria and deployment of military to trouble zones like what we have now.
“How can Bello Turji who sets vehicle on fire with several persons including a pregnant woman now talking about sympathy? Those he killed their loved ones and destroyed others means of livelihood are still alive today to judge him.
“Is necessary for the security agencies to invite the social media user who is a very close ally to Zamfara state government that have recorded and shared the interview with Bello Turji for clarification of sponsorship.
“And therefore, call on President Tinubu not to take the development lightly and we urge him to put on his political thinking cap to fast track mechanisms of addressing some of the issues like economic hardship in the country so those that don’t want him to continue governing Nigeria will be shamed and not succeed.”
