Bandit kingpin, Bello Turji
Reports circulating online that notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji was killed in a United States airstrike have been dismissed as false following a fact-check by security analyst Zagazola Makama’s verification platform.
According to findings by Zagazola Makama Fact Check, Turji is alive and has relocated to Dubagale, an area north of Dan Adama village in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, about 25 kilometres from the Niger Republic border.
Debunking the viral claims, the platform stated unequivocally:
“The reports are entirely unfounded. Bello Turji was not killed in any airstrike. He is alive and has relocated to Dubagale, close to the Niger border.”
The misleading reports are believed to have been triggered by misinformation and the recycling of old narratives amid ongoing and intensified counter-banditry operations across parts of north-western Nigeria.
Bello Turji, who has been on the security watchlist for years, is a prominent bandit leader known to operate mainly in Zamfara State and neighbouring areas.
He has been linked to numerous deadly attacks, mass abductions, and the displacement of several communities across the region.
